As part of the deal, blocks of tickets to shows ticketed by Live Nation will be available only at Blockbuster locations for the first four hours that they're on sale. The plan will go into effect after Live Nation's Ticketmaster contract expires at the end of the year, as part of the rollout of its own ticketing system.
“Our research definitively shows that the vast majority of music fans who prefer to buy their concert tickets at a retail location find Blockbuster to be the most convenient choice," stated Nathan Hubbard, head of ticketing for Live Nation. “Blockbuster's huge national footprint provides Live Nation with a powerful marketing partner to help drive incremental ticket sales to our events and an incredible opportunity to develop other product lines centered around music for Blockbuster customers."
Live Nation has record deals with Jay-Z, Madonna, Nickelback and Shakira and a merchandise deal with U2. For its part, Blockbuster has been shutting down locations across the nation for the past year or so while doubling down on its video-on-demand strategy, and recently reported a quarterly loss of $20.6 million, so it has ample reason to sign a deal that would bring more people to its remaining locations.
“Not only will this agreement drive hundreds of thousands of customers to our stores, it represents another step in the transformation of Blockbuster into a brand that offers the most convenient access to entertainment," stated Blockbuster chairman and CEO Jim Keyes."We want customers to know that whatever their entertainment needs -- from DVDs and games, to accessing tickets to some of the biggest concert events -- they'll find those needs answered at Blockbuster."
We've asked Live Nation about what sort of convenience fees they plan to charge after the Ticketmaster contract expires, but so far haven't heard a definitive response. It's unclear whether the Blockbuster deal holds any implications for the sorts of additional fees show-goers might be expected to pay. But at the very least, the urge to snap up hot tickets should have many music fans trying to remember the location of the nearest Blockbuster.
If tickets are still available after that initial four hours, they'll continue to be sold at Blockbuster, which “will be responsible for managing and operating all aspects of the ticket transactional experience." In addition to early ticketing, the deal involves Blockbuster-only access to unspecified exclusive “concert products and promotions."
For more information contact All About Jazz.
