“Anytime you have a major rollout, you hold your breath and hope there are no major glitches," Live Nation CEO of global music Jason Garner tells Billboard. “We went live over the [holiday] break and I didn't hear one complaint from anybody about the system."
Garner admits the rollout was “pretty complex, only because we had a bunch of events that had to be transferred from Ticketmaster over to Livenation.com. The rollout went as flawlessly as we could have hoped. I think in general you'd have to call it a major success."
The bulk of the events transferred from Ticketmaster to Livenation.com so far are club shows, as existing ticketing contracts remain in effect for most larger indoor venues. “What we went live with was our own venues, and no amphitheater shows are up yet," Garner points out. “So it was a bunch of small club shows, which in many ways is more difficult because of the volume."
As the launch moves forward, Garner says the primary facet of Live Nation controlling its own inventory is flexibility. “Our goal is always to have a system built around being able to satisfy what the artists and fans want," he says. “We realize in this economy the guy that gets creative and thinks outside the box on ways to create new revenue is going to win. It's about creating new music products for the fan." The secondary market, as it does in all facets of the live music industry, is sure to play a major role, particularly as the amphitheater season looms. Though Garner declined to discuss specifics, he did say, “We're now able to really work with artists to go out and capture secondary revenue and put it in the gross by controlling revenue. That can offset a lawn ticket going from $25 down to $20. We're uniquely positioned in our amphitheaters because we own them and have access to so many different sources of revenue. That alone, with our own ticketing system, has given us a real flexible ability to meet the needs of this economy."
Live Nation, like the rest of the primary industry, seeks greater control of the secondary market and the revenues it generates.
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