ITY 2017

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

40+ MARKETS PROFILED PLUS SELF-SERVICE & DIY TICKETING UNLOCKING BLOCKCHAIN THE INNOVATORS

AN ILMC PUBLICATION

INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017 • 1

No more queues. eventbrite.co.uk/music or call +44 (0)20 7806 9855

CONTENTS

CONTENTS Welcome

05

FEATURES Self-Service & DIY Ticketing

08

Never Break The Chain

14

The Innovators

16

COUNTRY PROFILES Argentina

26

Australia

28

Austria

30

The Baltics

31

Belgium

32

Brazil

34

Bulgaria

35

Canada

36

Chile

38

China

40

Czech Republic

42

Denmark

43

Finland

44

France

46

Germany

48

Greece

51

Hong Kong

52

Hungary

53

India

54

Ireland

56

Israel

57

Italy

58

Japan

59

Kazakhstan

60

Luxembourg

61

Mexico

62

The Netherlands

63

New Zealand

64

Norway

65

Poland

66

Portugal

67

Romania

67

Russia

68

Singapore

69

Slovakia

70

South Africa

71

Spain

72

Sweden

73

Switzerland

74

Turkey

75

United Arab Emirates

76

United Kingdom

78

United States of America

84

ITY Partners

87

Company Index

88

46

16

08

67

63

INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017 • 3

DEAR READER Welcome to the 2017 edition of the International Ticketing Yearbook – our third annual examination of the global ticketing business. The feedback we’ve received from previous editions has been extremely encouraging and that’s reflected in the growing number of countries under the microscope, with the likes of Chile, Hungary, Kazakhstan and New Zealand making their debuts in 2017.

The importance of the ticketing industry is underlined by the number of requests we receive each year for copies of ITY. And there’s barely a week goes by without a merger or acquisition and now deep-pocketed hedge funds are eagerly targeting investment opportunities in ticketing, confident that the live entertainment industry still has room for growth.

Once again, we’ve used research from the Global Entertainment and Media Outlook, produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), to provide estimated market values for the years 2017-2021 in 36 of the territories featured in this edition.

We’ve provided country-specific data for the typical demographics for live entertainment events – ages 15-24 and 25-54 – while statistics relating to smartphone penetration provide ticketers, promoters and venues with information about potential opportunities in mobile ticketing.

Using PwC’s estimates, we’ve also formulated a chart (right), detailing the top 20 live music markets in the world for 2017. The one major change from last year’s chart is PwC’s elevation of Germany to the second biggest live music market in the world, leapfrogging the United Kingdom.

The chances are that if you are reading this publication, you are a member of the International Live Music Conference (ILMC), or a subscriber to IQ Magazine. Or you may have picked up a copy at one of our partner’s events, to whom we’re very grateful for their encouragement and support. A big thank you also goes to our tireless contributors around the world who have helped to compile this tome.

And finally, it should be noted that the ITY would not be possible without our executive editor, Tim Chambers, whose knowledge of the business is second to none, and whose patience and ability to keep us all on track throughout the preparation of this publication, has been unparalleled.

Thank you, Tim.

TOP 20 LIVE MUSIC MARKETS

BY US$MILLIONS 1

USA

10,652

2

Germany

2,135

3

UK

2,070

4

Japan

1,926

5

France

1,035

6

Italy

721

7

Canada

711

8

Netherlands

629

9

Australia

603

10

Russia

490

11

Sweden

466

12

Norway

352

13

Switzerland

348

14

Spain

336

15

Austria

331

16

Belgium

322

17

Denmark

248

18

China

233

19

Mexico

201

20

Poland

180

Gordon Masson, Editor

INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017 IQ Magazine Unit 31 Tileyard Road King’s Cross London N7 9AH

PUBLISHER ILMC & Suspicious Marketing EDITOR Gordon Masson | gordon@iq-mag.net EXECUTIVE EDITOR Tim Chambers | chambers.tj@gmail.com DESIGN Philip Millard | rathernicedesign.com SUB EDITOR Michael Muldoon | michael@ilmc.com

MARKETING & ADVERTISING Terry McNally | terry@iq-mag.net Archie Carmichael | archie@iq-mag.net CONTRIBUTORS Lars Brandle, Kelly Brennan, Ben Cardew, Jon Chapple, Caroline Chia, Karl-Hermann Lipp, Ian Martin, Steve McLean, Richard Smirke, Justin Sweeting, Victoria Torgunakova, Adam Woods

INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017 • 5

WE GET FANS As the world’s leading ticketing expert, we have more audience data, distribution channels and marketing reach than anyone else. Wherever your event is happening, we make the world small enough to find the fans who’ll fill the seats

Say hello at sales@ticketmaster.co.uk

As new technology continues to help lower the entry barriers to the international ticketing markets, Richard Smirke examines the ever evolving self-service and DIY ticketing sector and some of the companies, established and start-up, looking to provide solutions to its expanding client base

SELFSERVICE & DIY TICKETING

2

0 years ago, promoters and event organisers had relatively few options when it came to ticketing, with just a handful of companies, led by Ticketmaster in the US, dominating the sector, and firmly established channels of inventory, distribution and sales in place for concerts big and small.

Today, Ticketmaster still reigns supreme as the world’s biggest ticket vendor (while CTS Eventim is the market leader in Europe),

but there also exists an ever-expanding wealth of self-service, do-it-yourself and white-label business-to-business (B2B) companies available for promoters to utilise and tailor to their own ticketing needs.

“The delineation between self-service and managed events, fully inclusive of any size or shape, has become smaller and smaller as the market has evolved,” says Marino Fresch, UK & Ireland marketing director of San Francisco-based Eventbrite, which prides itself on being the world’s

8 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

largest event technology platform and processes 3 million tickets per week across over 180 countries and had 50 million active buyers last year.

“The advantage that self-service brings is that an event organiser of any size, from the very small to the very large, can make their show exactly as they want it. They can control every aspect of the ticketing and data experience, and understand what’s working by seeing that information in real time. That’s where the self-service business

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SELF-SERVICE

says Andrés, highlighting another advantage that the self-service model offers: immediacy. “Organisers can register their event in just ten minutes, while in another part of the city, a user can buy tickets almost at the same time, receiving their purchase immediately by e-mail or phone.”

“The market has become multifaceted.

The venue box office is no longer the sole ticketing outlet; the Internet has made everything within reach for everyone,” elaborates Dave Newton, CEO of UK-based WeGotTickets, which was founded in 2000 when a small group of music lovers created an e-ticketing system for their own events.

It now works with over 10,000 venues and promoters across the UK and sells a million tickets across 50,000 events a year.

“When we came to market we created a level of ticketing that didn’t exist at the bottom rung of the music business,” he recalls. “That’s not the case anymore. Now the grassroots level is probably the most competitive end of the market, with lots of small companies, and some big ones, competing in the mix.”

GROWTH & CONSOLIDATION

Weezevent’s technology allows wristbands to be scanned for access accreditation

really comes into its own: that ability to see all of the data in real time and make critical business decisions in response. To me, it’s less about self-service and more about enabling people to take ownership and control of an event in a way that they haven’t been able to previously,” says Fresch.

“Organisers get autonomy and control of their events and users get a time-saving and easy-to-use service,” agrees Javier Andrés, CEO of Spain-based retailer ticketea, which alongside being a ticket retailer offers a

suite of white-label solutions, including marketing, ticket personalisation and the ability for promoters to sell their tickets via ticketea, mobile platforms or an artist/ venue’s own website.

“The self-service option is precisely what made ticketea stand out from the competition since the very beginning and is still one of our most used services, generating a long-tail volume of active users that every day manage their events and sell their tickets online autonomously,”

One of the biggest is Ticketmaster itself, which has been increasingly growing its reach into the self-service market. In 2015, the Live Nation-owned company acquired Austin, Texas-based white-label company Front Gate Tickets, which counts Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo and Electric Daisy Carnival among its clients. 2015 also saw Ticketmaster acquire US DIY ticketing and marketing platform Universe, while last year saw the UK launch of TicketWeb Backline – an end-to-end client portal, giving small venues and promoters a bespoke solution to sell tickets through their own platforms directly to fans.

“For us, it’s about making sure that we have the right platform for every layer of entertainment that is out there. There’s a recognition that one size doesn’t fit all,” explains Andrew Parsons, managing director at Ticketmaster UK. “While we have a phenomenal record on Ticketmaster in terms of being able to sell, market to, and convert audiences, some segments require a different toolset – be that TicketWeb servicing clubs and small venues; Universe for those that want to be completely DIY; or Front Gate driving all those incremental service elements that festivals increasingly want.”

The latter offering, which encompasses everything from RFID access to selling a wide range of VIP and ancillary experiences, has become a highly valuable asset for Ticketmaster’s festival clients, according to Parsons, pointing to this year’s gradual roll-

INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017 • 9

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out of Front Gate in the UK with Latitude, Download and Wilderness festivals.

“It’s about enhancing the offering beyond just the ticket. That means providing clients with a fully immersive white-label environment where they can reach their customers,” says Parsons. “We know that when we get that experience right, it really does help drive conversion of ticket sales.”

Other leading players in the everexpanding self-service sector include TicketServ (based in Australia), Billetto (Denmark), TicketSource and Toptix (both UK), Tikly and Brown Paper Tickets (both US), white label eCommerce (Germany), Weezevent (France), Onebox (Spain), Evento (Israel) and Dallas-headquartered Tessitura Network, among many others, with new entrants continually entering – and often just as rapidly departing – the market.

“Starting a ticketing company is pretty easy to do, frankly. But starting a ticketing company that can scale, successfully handle large events, and still have excellent customer service is much harder to do profitably,” cautions Eventbrite’s Fresch.

“What we’re now seeing is a tremendous amount of small start-up, self-service companies popping up and either quickly going out of business or being bought up.”

Although neither company could ever be described as a small start-up, Eventbrite’s acquisition of European ticketing company Ticketscript and US-based Ticketfly from Pandora for $200million (€220m) earlier this year contributed to the consolidation transforming the market. The past 12 months also saw Sky Tickets buy British start-up Una Tickets.

“That’s part of what makes this industry incredibly exciting, because we’re starting to see consolidation result in a much better experience for customers,” enthuses Fresch, pointing to Eventbrite’s enhanced integration with digital platforms like Facebook and Spotify that enable users to purchase tickets without leaving the site or

“It’s about enhancing the offering beyond just the ticket. We know that when we get that right, it really does help drive conversion of ticket sales.”

ANDREW PARSONS | TICKETMASTER UK app. Event discovery is another avenue that the company is focusing on, personalising recommendations to its global customer base.

OWN YOUR OWN DATA Technology is also one of the main pillars of Germany’s white label eCommerce, which provides a full suite of customisable client solutions, including mobile ticketing, promotion and marketing to over 125 whitelabel shops and portals, spanning 400-plus artists. “Whenever we speak to market participants, there is always a strong desire for them to have full control of ticket prices; to own and to use customer data; to find services and technology, such as ticket shops, that are fully customisable,” says head of operations and product Iris Bögeholz.

She notes that because the European, and in particular German, live entertainment

business is very diverse, so too are white label eCommerce’s solutions and services, allowing partners to choose whether they want to do their own ticket fulfilment, internally process payments, or dictate the design and wording of their own ticket shop. “As a young and dynamic company, we don’t carry the burden of legacies and thus can focus on newest and innovative developments,” states Bögeholz, who credits the Hamburg-based company’s “mobile-first approach” with driving over 70% of sales on partner shops via mobile channels.

All parties that ITY spoke to agreed that data ownership remains one of the major draws for event organisers towards the self-service model. “That data is absolutely crucial for a hard-working band that’s touring the world playing in front of around 1,000 people a night. To have the email addresses of everyone who came to a show

Talking Heads

Andrew Parsons Ticketmaster

Dave Newton WeGotTickets

10 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

Iris Bögeholz white label eCommerce

John O’Neill Tickets.ie

Marino Fresch Eventbrite

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SELF-SERVICE

is invaluable for when they come back in two years’ time,” says Mark Meharry, CEO of direct-to-fan e-commerce operator Music Glue, which sells tickets, merchandise and upsell experiences in a single, seamless transaction, and provides clients with full ownership of its customer data.

“Managers and artists are becoming more acutely aware of the marketing clout that they have when they’re promoting their shows. Every day we go on-sale with acts that are easily selling upwards of 60% of tickets direct to fans because they have so much reach and access to their customer base that ten years ago they simply didn’t have,” says Meharry, whose Londonheadquartered company applies the self-service industry standard rate of 10% commission on all sales. Music Glue clients to-date have included Metallica, Blondie, Black Sabbath and Red Hot Chili Peppers, alongside a wide range of global festivals, labels and venues.

“We’re not here to disrupt the industry.

We’re here to democratise it and remove this deadlock that exists between customers wanting to buy direct from artists and not being able to,” states the CEO, who co-

founded Music Glue in 2007 and has since opened satellite offices in New York and Sydney. “As an industry, we’re potentially leaving billions on the table because we’re frustrating fans. We want to fix that and move the dial a little bit back in favour of the creative community and away from corporations.”

Founded 17 years ago in the UK, Oxfordbased WeGotTickets was one of the earliest entries in the self-ticketing market and also charges a maximum 10% booking fee (sliding downwards as the ticket price rises). However, it takes a different approach to data management, encouraging its customers to sign-up to the mailing list of the promoter or event organiser at the point of sale and directly after the event.

This method results in approximately one third of WeGotTickets’ customers voluntarily signing-up to promoters’ mailing lists, resulting in a more engaged customer base, says CEO Dave Newton. “It gives them a better quality piece of data to use,” he states, noting that a third of customers actively decline being added to the event organiser’s mailing list. “I’d much rather be sending information to people who are glad to receive it. Rather

than just promoting the fact that we’ve got 2 million people on our database, many of whom may be blocking their marketing emails or marking them as junk.”

Tickets.ie, Ireland’s largest, independent ticketing retailer, which sells over 2.5 million tickets a year, also operates a white-label platform that works with event organisers and promoters to deliver customised online sales, as well as an overthe-counter solution and sales support.

CEO John O’Neill says that the self-service model is popular among organisers of small- and medium-sized shows precisely because it enables them to easily customise their ticketing needs to suit the event. He does, however, warn that the model doesn’t necessarily suit everyone.

“Over the past five years, there have been more and more venues in Ireland trying to do their own ticketing, but what they’re missing out on is the marketing and promotional reach that a ticketing company can bring to the party,” says O’Neill. “You might have a white-label solution that’s sold tickets for Artist A, but that data won’t necessarily help you sell tickets for Artist B. From that point of view, I think overall,

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ticket agencies provide better value, providing that you can negotiate a good rate with them.”

music festivals, Disney entertainment shows, Formula 1 and Moto GP. Onebox also integrates more than 40 different sales channels, including Ticketmaster and ticketea into its platform, and Galí says that the ticketing business as a whole could benefit from looking towards the tourism and airline industries for ways to better apply dynamic pricing and a more joined-up approach between all parties. “In those industries, every company, every tour operator and travel agency play and connect with others in order to create a bigger business. We can all learn from that.”

GOING GLOBAL With so many companies now operating in the white-label and self-service ticket sector, many are now looking to markets beyond their domestic territory to expand.

Paris-based Weezevent – which was founded in 2008 by Pierre-Henri Deballon and Sébastien Tonglet, to try and overcome the problems they experienced staging their own events – recently opened offices in Spain and the UK (as well as launching an Italian-localised version of its software), having quickly become established as one of the leading self-service ticketing operators in France and Canada.

“We’ve seen that organisers were ready and waiting for what we’ve created,” says Deballon, crediting Weezevent’s white-label self-service with driving 10 million ticket sales per year across festivals, conferences, fairs, holiday resorts and sporting events.

Clients have included the Live Nationrun Paris editions of Download and Lollapalooza festival, as well as a number of French football teams and the 2016 UEFA European Championships. Meanwhile, the company’s cashless wristband solution processed more than £32million (€35m) transactions for around 3.5 million ticket holders last year.

“We want to address every market like we have done in France. That means we need to be near the organisers to provide them with the best technology to meet their needs,” says Deballon, who – echoing the words of many in the self-service sector – believes that by tailoring their service to the needs of promoters, customers receive a better experience and, in turn, buy more tickets. “Using Weezevent, organisers can create marketing discounts, personalise the tickets with their sponsors or information relevant to the event, and generate that ticketing solution direct to Facebook and social networks, which people can then

Mark Meharry Music Glue

easily share with their friends. Without having any technical skills, [organisers] can build a strong ticketing solution on their website and own the details of every attendee.”

Spain’s Onebox, which bills itself as the first global ticket distribution system for the entertainment industry, and processes around 6 million tickets a year, with a sales value of €180m, is also eying expansion into new markets, having recently opened an office in Costa Rica. The lucrative North American and British market is also on the company’s radar.

“Each market will have its own unique needs,” says CEO Carlos Galí, a one-time employee of Spanish ticketing retailer ServiCaixa, who co-founded Onebox in 2010 to address the needs of Spanish promoters and event organisers. “At that time, there were four main ticketing systems in Spain, all with different channels of sales allocation. Our platform was developed to provide a centralised all-in-one ticketing solution that gives organisers complete control over the inventory with real-time seat availability and a channel manager to help empower sales, profits and audiences. Our goal was to move control from the ticketing vendors to the event organisers and venue managers, and we’ve been very successful in doing that,” states Galí, pointing to Onebox’s diverse range of clients, which span ten La Liga soccer teams, a large number of Spanish

Patrick Kirby Tixserve

12 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

Pierre-Henri Deballon Weezevent

NEW ENTRANTS Tixserve managing director and co-founder Patrick Kirby too believes that the ticketing industry would benefit from a more coordinated and synchronised approach.

Launched earlier this year, Tixserve offers clients a paperless ticket fulfilment platform that delivers tickets straight to smartphones. Kirby says the company was born out of a curiosity to find out why the ticketing industry “seemed to be relatively slow in adopting digital means of ticketing compared to the airline industry where mobile-boarding passes are now pretty normal for the average traveller. The ticketing industry hasn’t moved with the same concerted effort,” he states.

Tixserve’s goal is to “become the de facto standard for fulfilling tickets digitally,” explains Kirby, but stresses that the company is more than just a delivery solution, thanks to its Tixserve wallet app – a white-label, patent-pending product, which can be seamlessly embedded within existing ticket sellers’ systems and allows organisers to capture valuable customer data.

“It transforms the ticket into a marketing asset, which a paper ticket or pdf can’t match. Because our ticket is interactive and content rich, it connects artists and events to consumers and thirdparty business partners in a way that’s not currently possible when you mainly rely on paper ticketing,” extolls Kirby. He says the company’s initial focus is on “establishing our credentials in the UK and Irish market” before expanding internationally.

“Once we understood what the market required, we spent almost two years building and refining our solution. And we kept going back to the market to validate our offer. We think some other [companies] have come in a little bit naively with technology-led solutions without ever speaking to a manager, promoter, artist or ticket seller. Time will tell whether those companies will survive or not.”

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BLOCKCHAIN

NEVER THE CHAIN Could technology that makes it possible to track the entire lifecycle of a ticket finally put an end to fraud and unregulated resale? These five ticketing startups hope so, writes Jon Chapple.

B

lockchain (or the blockchain, depending on your preferred terminology) is the music-biz tech buzzword of the moment: a digital ledger, originally developed for use by cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, in which all transactions are recorded permanently and publicly.

While much of the press around blockchain and the music industry has focused on implications for the online streaming of recorded music – citing the benefits of ‘smart contracts’ wherein the owner(s) of songs will be paid automatically for their usage – the technology also has numerous applications in the live space: not least in ticketing, where a handful of pioneers are taking advantage of the trackability of paperless tickets to wrest

control away from touts and hand it back to artists, managers and promoters.

AVENTUS London-based Aventus Systems recently welcomed two new high-profile backers – both of whom will be familiar to those working in live music – as advisory board members, attracted by the potential for blockchain technology to eliminate unauthorised ticket resale.

Michael Waterson, the British economist who led a government-commissioned review of the UK secondary ticketing market, and Bernie Dillon, formerly a VP at Hard Rock International/Hard Rock Live, and now director of Carnival Cruise Lines’ Carnival Live, have lent their support to the Aventus platform, which promises to be the

14 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

“revolutionary global standard for the fair, secure and transparent creation, promotion and sale of tickets that is not controlled by any one entity.”

“My investigation into the event ticketing industry, particularly in music, brought home to me how a structure has grown up that leads to consumer confusion and frustration, alongside a range of dubious practices,” says Waterson. “Technologically, the problems are challenging, but, to me, Aventus has a comprehensive approach to their solution. Provided there is sufficient industry buy-in, Aventus can be a real force for positive change.”

Aventus’s initial coin offering (ICO) – a type of crowdfunding campaign for cryptocurrency-based start-ups – is planned for September 2017. The company

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At press time, Citizen Ticket is the only blockchain-based ticketing platform in use at events in Britain (other UK-based platforms are still in development).

GUTS TICKETS

is seeking to raise around $15million (€13m) worth of ‘ether’ – the cryptocurrency used on the Ethereum blockchain – in exchange for 6m of its AventCoin (AVT) tokens.

CITIZEN TICKET Following trials at several small- and medium-sized events, Citizen Ticket officially broke cover in August after successfully stress-testing its platform at a 100,000-capacity show.

Company co-founder Phil Shaw-Stewart says Citizen Ticket is now looking to partner with its “first major project” to demonstrate that “ticket fraud and ticket touts can be stopped at large-scale events.

“Citizen Ticket was created to deal with the unethical problems that plague the event ticketing industry, including ticket touts, secondary sale ticket websites and ticket counterfeiting,” comments ShawStewart. “The public and artists have spoken and they’ve had enough of being extorted and ripped off by unethical ticketing practices. Citizen Ticket’s mission is to provide an ethical alternative to buy and sell event tickets.”

In the Netherlands, meanwhile, Amsterdambased start-up GUTS sold its first ticket in November 2016, and has since ticketed medium-sized events across the country.

Recent clients include EastVille Festival in Amsterdam and Here Comes the Summer in Vlieland, the latter of which was backed by the EU’s Innofest project. For Here Comes the Summer, GUTS distributed food and drink tokens through the blockchain, allowing attendees to buy tokens through their smartphones – and creating a permanent, easy-to-follow record of all transactions at the festival.

As with other blockchain ticketers, GUTS highlights its anti-touting and anticounterfeiting credentials as setting it apart from traditional ticketing platforms.

“We are fed up with the excessive profits made on event tickets on the secondary market,” says the company. “We are of the opinion that money should only be made by those who deserve it: by the people and organisations who [make] the effort to service and entertain the public.

Furthermore, we want fair ticket prices for all fans.

“The introduction of the GUTS system is an important first step towards eliminating the rotten parts of the secondary ticket market.”

TOKENSTUB Like Aventus, TokenStub is, at the time of writing, gearing up for an ICO, with which it hopes to raise $15m (€13m) with the sale of 200m units of its STUB currency.

TokenStub – the brainchild of Dr Philip Fernbach, a professor at the University of Colorado; Sean McHale, former CTO of bookseller eBooks.com; and Californian lawyer Erik Velie – says it hopes to give power back to artists and their representatives by laying the groundwork for a “fair, secure and decentralised eventticketing infrastructure.”

“Current platforms for purchasing sports, concert and theatre tickets are rife with issues of fraud, lack of scalability, limited seating options and high costs,” reads the ICO blurb. “Resellers use sophisticated bots to make bulk ticket purchases, which in turn blocks the average consumer from the market. Buyers are forced into the secondary market, where resale prices are often extortionate. This ultimately strips entertainers of any pricing power.”

TokenStub CEO McHale comments: “The status quo is unsatisfactory to consumers, retailers and artists alike. TokenStub promises a fair, more efficient and secure marketplace for buyers and sellers.”

VIBERATE Looking beyond simple ticketing, Viberate hopes to create an entire blockchain-based live music marketplace that will “do for music what Airbnb did for tourism.”

As the company behind the Vibe, an Ethereum-based cryptocurrency aimed specifically at the live music industry, Ljubljana-based Viberate is chiefly concerned with giving musicians an opportunity to charge for their shows in cryptocurrencies, rather than traditional cash.

In addition to allowing touring musicians to be paid in Vibes, Viberate aims to offer artists, promoters and agents a blockchain-based alternative to what it calls a “heavily centralised” industry dominated by “a few major talent agencies.”

“Musicians need agents in order to land enough gigs to make a living, and most of the musicians don’t stand a chance of getting spotted,” reads its white paper.

“Only a fraction of a per cent of all the world’s musicians have proper representation and are lucky enough to have music as their primary source of income. The rest are left on their own, struggling with exposure in a heavily saturated market, dealing with marketing, sales, networking, legal, taxation and debt collection issues instead of focusing on the creative part of the music business. […]

“There is a clear need for an entity that would effectively and safely represent all those who don’t have the privilege of an agent. Blockchain technology offers the best tools for this task.”

For promoters, the Viberate architecture gives a helping hand in staying “on top of trends in live music” and provides them with a constantly evolving roster – which may also be supplied by booking agencies – of “interesting musicians,” says the company.

“A good event organiser in a busy city can organise up to three or four events weekly with several musicians on the line-up. Such frequency soon leads to the organiser not knowing who to book next. An event organiser’s product is a ticket, and their primary goal is to sell as many tickets as possible. To do this they need a good programme and a good ticket sales channel.”

Its ICO is planned for September 2017, when 120m Vibes ($12m/€10m worth) will be up for grabs.

INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017 • 15

THE

INNOVATORS

With the volume of concerts worldwide continuing to edge steadily upwards, there have never been more options for savvy promoters to make greater returns on ticket sales. Jon Chapple talks to some of the inventors and entrepreneurs pushing the ticketing envelope.

© SIMON BUTLER

A

s the International Ticketing Yearbook returns for a third year, so too does our annual showcase of the technological innovations currently shaping the future of the global ticketing landscape.

From distributing inventory in the cloud to identifying genuine fans, giving small venues a helping hand and using bots for good, our class of 2017 proves once again that there is no shortage of companies finding ingenious ways of getting tickets into the hands of fans.

TICKETS CLOUD Founded in 2014, Moscow-based Tickets Cloud is – as its name suggests – a cloudbased platform that connects promoters with an extensive network of ticket distributors.

Using the cloud, event organisers grant distribution partners – which can include ticket agencies, social media pages, fan clubs, online shops and music-streaming services, as well as their own channels – access to their entire ticket inventory, in real time and with no quotas, by which

16 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

the company says promoters can increase profits by as much as a fifth.

“Our technology enables event promoters to increase attendance rates by selling tickets […] through all possible sellers, as in the aviation industry,” explains Tickets Cloud’s co-founder and director of strategy and business development, Katerina Kirillova. “This model generates up to 20% more profit, as every customer can have access to all tickets in their budget in one convenient place, and allows promoters to accumulate data, previously held by ticket

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Gigantic are the ticketing partner for Tramlines festival

INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017 • 17

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”We wanted to develop a grassroots ticket that genuinely lets fans know that what they are buying is directly supporting the venues they love...”

BEVERLEY WHITRICK | GRASSROOTS VENUES TICKETS agencies, about their audience.

“On the other hand, ticket sellers get instant access to an unlimited number of event organisers with only one agreement and mutually beneficial commission with promoters. With our tool they do not need to invest money to have ticket inventory for sale, but only need focus on the most efficient marketing and promotion strategy.”

Kirillova says Tickets Cloud is currently working with around 1,000 promoters and 50 ticket distributors, including Alibaba’s AliExpress and several Russian ticket agencies, and hopes to expand to the UK in the near future. She adds that the company is preparing for an ICO [initial coin offering] – a type of crowdfunding campaign, or ‘crowdsale’ using cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum – “to invest in further development of our technologies and useful tools for our customers.”

GRASSROOTS VENUES TICKETS Grassroots Venues Tickets is a new online ticketing platform for UK grassroots music venues (GMVs), jointly developed by Music Venue Trust (MVT), a charity that supports and protects independent venues, and Ticketmaster’s TicketWeb. “Music Venue Trust wanted to bring a ticket product into the market that was about supporting the GMV sector,” explains strategic director Beverley Whitrick. “There’s been a lot of talk about ethical ticketing and the music industry’s concerns about these venues. We wanted to develop a grassroots ticket that genuinely lets fans know that what they are buying is directly supporting the venues they love that really need help.

“Tickets bought through Grassroots Venues Tickets attract the lowest service charge on the market: just 5%. TicketWeb allocates a proportion of this service charge to the Music Venue Trust to fund national and local campaigning to stop venue closures and improve music venues.

Customers also make a fixed donation of 50p towards the maintenance and refurbishment of the venue, which is paid directly to the venue. The result is a lower priced ticket for the customer, which is directly supporting grassroots music venues.”

Grassroots Venues Tickets went live in July, listing tickets to shows at an initial 16 British partner venues.

In addition to offering a “great deal for fans and a major step forward in funding for venues,” Whitrick says MVT and TicketWeb also designed Grassroots Venues Tickets to help independent composers and artists.

“We also wanted Grassroots Venues Tickets to do something for writers and publishers,” she continues. “In our exclusive ticket offer to venues, MVT is going to be able to track, monitor and pay collection agencies such as PRS for Music, on behalf of GMVs, while filing information that ensures grassroots writers and artists are getting paid when their work is performed.

It removes a significant burden of work and responsibility from venues, and is a real win for writers and artists at this level.”

GIGANTIC Primary ticket agency Gigantic, based in the English city of Nottingham, this

18 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

year celebrated a decade in business, with highlights including an innovative “queuebusting” ticketing solution for Sheffield’s Tramlines Festival and a new self-service dashboard for event promoters.

As the exclusive ticket seller for Tramlines – the UK’s biggest city-centre music festival – Gigantic’s solution sees the ticket-holder issued with a unique e-ticket for their selected collection point. Taking into account the extra security checks now in place at most major events, the solution both speeds up wristband collection (queuing time is reduced by around 90%) and allows Gigantic to work with the onsite production team to manage traffic flow and staffing levels at each entrance.

Gigantic founder Mark Gasson says the move away from physical to electronic tickets “brought the operation into the 21st century.” He comments: “Every promoter will tell you that they hate people having to queue to get into their event. For Tramlines, getting the ticketing and box office right was really important to enable them to continue growing the festival. Being onsite, we can adapt to any situation quickly and offer a solution to ensure everyone gets in quickly and customers are happy.”

Also new from Gigantic is an iOS scanning app that will soon be available to all promoters working with the ticketer.

Using the app, both mobile and printat-home tickets can be scanned directly to a mobile device, which automatically validates the ticket against a live database, providing a financial and customer-service benefit to time-pressed promoters.

Improvements to Gigantic’s self-service dashboard, meanwhile, rolled out earlier this year, provide promoters with easy access to event information while on the move via a fully responsive website. “From access to data, reports and ticket sales to geographical tracking, Gigantic recognises the importance of keeping organisers at the centre of their event,” says the company.

TICKETMASTER One of the “major priorities” for the world’s biggest ticketing company in 2017 is its Verified Fan service, explains head of music David Marcus, which aims to “better connect the artist and the fan” by ensuring tickets end up in the hands of fans, not touts.

How it works: fans register for the presale via a webpage – for example, springsteen.tmverifiedfan.com, edsheeran. tmverifiedfan.com or lcd.tmverifiedfan. com – and each registration is reviewed

by Ticketmaster to sort the genuine fans from brokers masquerading as ordinary buyers. Marcus acknowledges the system

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Lottery Winners played at the Tixserve launch party in February 2017

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isn’t yet foolproof, with some touts still managing to fool Ticketmaster’s algorithms, but says the company’s data shows that they make up on average less than 5% – and that that number is decreasing all the time.

“Is it perfect?” he continues. “It’s not. But does it get better every time? It does.”

Marcus says the percentage of tickets sold via Verified Fan is down to the artist – some, including Harry Styles, Niall Horan, and Bruce Springsteen, have opted for 100% – as is the decision to offer incentives, such as with Linkin Park’s One More Light world tour, where fans could plug the tour on social media or pre-order the band’s new album to increase their chances of getting tickets.

Verified Fan has, at press time, been deployed for 48 major on-sales, the most recent being Springsteen’s eight-week Broadway residence in October and November.

That particular run of shows – with a stadium-level act playing the sub-1,000-cap. Walter Kerr Theater – is a perfect example of where Verified Fan comes into its own, says Marcus, who observes that were “market forces allowed to prevail, those tickets would be thousands of dollars – and we’d be subject to one of the great bot attacks of all time.”

TICKETPLAN

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It’s been a busy 12 months for UK-based TicketPlan, a ticket insurance and protection firm that provides refunds to ticket buyers that are no longer able to attend events.

The company has invested significantly in its inhouse, custom-built claims handling systems, launched a multilingual refund application platform, and entered three new European markets, as well as taken steps towards a North American launch and secured a number of major new clients in the UK. “It’s been a whirlwind year for TicketPlan and we have achieved an incredible amount in the last 12 months,” says group development manager Ben Bray. “We are now well-established in Europe and hope to launch in North America later this year.

”There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to ticket protection and insurance.”

BEN BRAY | TICKETPLAN

“It has been key for us to ensure that we adhere to all local regulations as we enter new markets, as there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to ticket protection and insurance. However, one of our major strengths as a company is our agility and ability to adapt our services to suit the needs of our clients, their customers, and the markets in which they operate.

“The next big step for TicketPlan is the US launch.

Exciting times!”

TICKX Dubbed a ‘Skyscanner for live events’ by young founders Steve Pearce and Sam Coley, TickX aggregates more than 70,000 concert, festival, comedy, theatre and sports tickets from 50+ partners.

TickX was established in September 2015 to provide a single destination for tickets, says Pearce, after he and Coley tired of being “frustrated by the nightmare of organising a night out.” The London-based company since raised £925,000 from investors including Ministry of Sound and private-equity firm 24 Haymarket, and turned down offers from three ‘dragon’ investors on the BBC’s Dragons’ Den. TickX has recently launched the world’s first event search engine chatbot, and plans to roll out interactive seat maps, featuring in-seat photography, for London’s West End theatres. ‘’We’re really pleased with TickX’s growth since Dragons’ Den,” comments Pearce. “We have secured funding from incredible investors, expanded our team, and launched

Feature

THE INNOVATORS

new innovations, such as our chatbot and interactive seating maps with views from the seat. Our aim is to bring transparency to as many people as possible that are looking to find and buy tickets for events.

“After rapid growth in the UK, we have now launched in Ireland and Spain, and will continue to plan to expand further across Europe.”

THE TICKET FAIRY The Ticket Fairy, founded six years ago in Australia and now active in Britain, Europe, the US and New Zealand, aims to help promoters increase attendance and turnover, and lower risk, with its ticketing, marketing and analytics platform.

“When we started this company in 2011, we wanted to do one thing better than anybody else: help events increase revenues and stay in business,” explains founder and COO Jigar Patel. “More than $1.5m in venture and angel funding, and three patent-pending innovations later – having expanded to eight countries and built arguably the most ground-breaking events technology and ticketing platform in the world, which consistently uplifts ticket sales by 15–35% and produces marketing spend ROI averaging 3,500% – yes, three thousand five hundred per cent – that original vision remains at the forefront of our minds as our ultimate reason for existing.

“Ticketing aside, we always knew that a broad, powerful suite of innovative technological solutions was the key to solving many of the fundamental challenges events face every day. Our enterprise-level technology suite is designed to empower events of any size with the output potential of dozens of marketing, data, sales, administrative and backoffice staff, all through one stunningly beautiful, effortlessly functional and highly configurable online dashboard.”

The past 12 months have seen The Ticket Fairy invest heavily in the next iteration of its core product – what Patel calls “Ticket Fairy

TicketPlan provides cancellation insurance coverage to Glastonbury Festival ticket purchasers, among many others

v2.0” – which is set to roll out in the UK and Europe, North America, Australasia, India, Latin America and East Africa in early 2018.

CORAS Irish start-up Coras, led by Ticket ABC founder Mark McLaughlin, enables ticket agencies to integrate inventory into third-party websites, allowing customers to buy event tickets from sites they already frequent.

McLaughlin explains: “Coras believes that the biggest ticket sellers of tomorrow are not selling tickets today, and that in future the customer won’t have to go to just one site to buy specific tickets – all tickets will be available wherever the customer is online.

“Coras is creating a marketplace connecting suppliers, such as promoters, venues and theatres, with distributors like travel brands, e-commerce sites and apps, so customers can purchase tickets on the sites they already use.”

Coras is starting out in the theatre world, where it is working with clients including Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG), Nederlander and Nimax, but McLaughlin says live music is a “key focus” for the future.

Explaining the advantages of Coras’s

API-based solution for ticket distribution, McLaughlin says: “The distribution of tickets is currently dominated by the biggest ticketing brands, such as Ticketmaster and Eventim, but a network of distributors that can target customers based on their date, location and demographics, will be more powerful and efficient than any single seller.

“New distribution partners each bring their own marketing and pricing strategies, so that customers have a better online purchasing experience and there is a shift away from antiquated email marketing.”

The company earlier this year secured €1.9m in investment in a funding round led by private-equity firm Atlantic Bridge. Other backers included investment firms Hambro Perks and Elkstone Capital, and U2 guitarist The Edge.

TIXSERVE After pioneering the digitisation of mobile phone top-ups with Payzone in the noughties, Tixserve’s founders turned their expertise to ticketing. The mission, they tell ITY, is to help ticket sellers reach the mobile generation with secure, intelligent, content-rich digital tickets able to drive

Talking Heads

Ben Bray Ticketplan

Beverley Whitrick Grassroots Venues Tickets

22 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

David Marcus Ticketmaster

Jigar Patel The Ticket Fairy

Katerina Kirillova Tickets Cloud

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THE INNOVATORS

TickX famously rejected funding offers on BBC television programme Dragons’ Den

extra revenue through new commerce opportunities between consumers, sellers and partners.

After partnering with Autonomy Music to provide mobile ticket fulfilment for the label’s tenth anniversary at London’s Omeara earlier this year, Tixserve promises more announcements imminently as it expands through the UK industry and beyond.

“We live in a mobile world, but so many in the live entertainment industries are still clinging to paper tickets, which offer zero functionality beyond granting access to a venue,” says MD Patrick Kirby. “We provide a white-label platform allowing our clients to create mobile tickets that can be configured with bespoke functionality and interactivity. Promoters, venue operators, artists, managers and agents can provide fans with a ticket featuring interactive venue information, exclusive content, e-commerce functionality for merchandise, a video or Spotify player… the possibilities

Mark Gasson Gigantic

are endless!

“A secure, intelligent mobile ticket powered by Tixserve brings the consumer and the seller closer together than ever, and opens up new ways of monetising that relationship.”

OXYNADE Based in Belgium, Oxynade offers a unique 100% white label ticketing technology (eTaaS) for ticketing business professionals who are focussed in their own market on multiple verticals, such as event organisers, venue owners, arenas, theatres, theme parks, nightclubs, etc. Besides Belgium, Oxynade is already operating in a further eight European countries, where its partnerships are based on the same Oxynade white label ticketing technology, focused on local ticketing needs, and are targeting other multiple segments.

The core of the Oxynade eTaas offering is a hyper flexible and scalable ticketing

Mark McLaughlin Coras

24 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

Patrick Kirby Tixserve

technology architecture, which enables its white label parterns to meet all (local) needs and requirements of their client database and even offers a wide range of up- and cross-sell tools. All services are executed 100% white-label under the brand name of the relevant partner, in multiple languages and currencies. Oxynade relies on an interesting revenue share model, meaning that there are no majoy upfront costs for partners. The company’s ticeting professionals operate a secure 24/7 service and are therefore enabling white label partners to focus on their real strenghts: sales, marketing and support of the client database.

“Having a totally open API architecture, which is based on the newest tech standards, is giving both ourselves and our international white label partners huge advantages in flexibility, scalability and time to market,” comments Hans Nissens, CEO of Oxynade.

Steve Pearce TickX

Hans Nissens Oxynade

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INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

ARGENTINA Language: English | Population (millions): 43.9 | Currency: Peso | GDP/Capita (US$): 20,200 | Internet Users (millions): 30.1 | Smartphone penetration: 48.2% | Population % aged 15–24: 15.4 | Population % aged 25–54: 39.2 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 26 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 33

A

rgentina is the number-two market in South America after Brazil and is a must-visit for most acts making the trip, but it’s not a straightforward place. The last 20 years have seen persistent inflation problems and currency disasters, and promoters have had their work cut out for them dealing in international markets.

All the same, Argentina remains an elegant, civilised place and a keen music market, so when the numbers all line up, as they have in the past four years for a series of successful Lollapaloozas and mega-gigs by Roger Waters and, recently, the Rolling Stones, it’s easy to imagine there’s nothing standing between Argentina and consistent live biz success.

its own All Access portal. Among Argentina’s standalone ticketing specialists are Livepass, Tu Entrada and VisionOne Argentina’s TicketPortal, which holds the exclusive contract for Buenos Aires’ Estadio Luna Park.

PRIMARY TICKETING Ticketing companies in Argentina broadly divide into those that are operated by promoters and those that standalone. From the former camp, but with a remit broader than just its parent company’s events, Time For Fun’s Ticketek is the country’s leading ticketing company, taking a 70% market share. It sold 4.8m tickets for 6,550 events in 2015, and operates a modern service with mobile sales and a loyalty programme.

Ticketek director Fernando Bolan says promoters prefer to organise their own ticket sales for peace of mind, and for the additional income, though Ticketek is not just a sideline for its parent company. “We sell around 6,500 events per year, and only 20 are produced by Time For Fun,” he says.

Another major promoter, DF Entertainment, organiser of Lollapalooza and numerous international shows, sells through

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES “People in Argentina prefer to purchase online,” says Bolan.

Other options remain available, including call centres and sales points in cities. But Ticketek predicts that the days of the physical point of sale are numbered, and has been working with Motorola to move into smartphone-based barcode scanning – first in theatres, later for music crowds.

SECONDARY TICKETING EntradaFan launched in May 2015 as the first peer-to-peer ticket marketplace in Argentina, and it still operates, last year becoming the first such site to allow buyers to pay in Bitcoin.

“Fraud in Argentina is lower than in Brazil, but it still exists,” says Bolan. “Secondary ticketing is forbidden here, but there are some websites that try to sell fake tickets.”

VALUE OF MARKET The Argentinian live market isn’t often audited, but T4F has estimated that Argentina saw an 8% increase in spending on entertainment between 2005 and 2012, to US$326 (€284 in today’s money), though the precise spend on live event tickets isn’t recorded.

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES When times are tough, the split in Argentina skews towards Latin American artists, and when money is flowing, the bigger international shows return. At the time of writing, Depeche Mode, U2, Bon Jovi and others were all incoming, perhaps indicating that modernising president Mauricio Macri isn’t doing too badly, having fixed Argentina’s global credit problem and lowered its currency controls.

“At the beginning of 2017, there were not many options, but during the following few months a lot of artists were confirmed: Bruno Mars, U2, Depeche Mode, Guns N’ Roses, The Who, Bon Jovi, Green Day, Coldplay, Jamiroquai and Deep Purple. Bruno, U2 and Coldplay are sold out [well in advance].”

CULTURAL ANALYSIS In spite of a steadying economy, spending power in Argentina remains soft, so sponsorship remains important. T4F, for one, has lately worked with brands including Banco Patagonia, Allianz, Musimundo, Motorola, Unicenter, Joker Mobile, FCA (Chrysler/Fiat), and other automotive and health companies.

Move Concerts uses LivePass to provide ticketing services for its Maximus Festival

26 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

TAXES AND CHARGES Argentina dropped its 21% VAT on concert tickets in 2006, helping to drive the country’s then-depressed live music scene to several years of solid success. That concession remains in place.

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INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

AUSTRALIA Language: English | Population (millions): 24.1 | Currency: Dollar | GDP/Capita (US$): 48,800 | Internet Users (millions): 19.2 Smartphone penetration: 67.7% | Population % aged 15–24: 13.0 | Population % aged 25–54: 41.6 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 603 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 614

A

© Brett Schewitz

fter briefly going off the boil, Australia’s concerts market is starting to heat up again with an impressive line-up of stadium and arena shows on the slate. A relatively quiet touring market in 2016 closed strong with a stadium tour by Coldplay, then hit its stride with tours by Bruce Springsteen and Justion Bieber ( both Frontier Touring Company [FTC]), and Adele’s first visit to these parts. The British singer played to more than 600,000 people across her eight-date stadium trek, and shattered attendance records at each venue along the way. The 2017-18 summer season promises to be a record breaker with Ed Sheeran’s stadium tour for FTC next March closing in on 1 million ticket sales.

The onsale for Sheeran’s Divide tour swiftly trashed the record of 910,000 tickets shifted on a single run, a mark set 31 years ago by Dire Straits.

Michael Gudinski’s FTC pulled off another major coup with the announcement of a Paul McCartney stadium tour later in 2017, the Beatle’s first visit to these shores in a quarter century. Michael Chugg will orchestrate a pair of arena shows for home-grown superstar Sia, featuring an all-female bill, while upcoming arena tours from Katy Perry (promoted by TEG Dainty), Ariana Grande (LN) and others will keep business ticking over.

The festival space is as eventful as it is colourful. A handful of international brands will enter the Australian market in the months ahead, including EDM events Ultra Music Festival, Sensation, and Storm. The opportunity to test the marketplace is too much for some impresarios to ignore following the disappearance in recent years of

Frontier Touring used Tiketek to sell tickets for LCD Soundsystem at Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena

28 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

the country’s four touring titans (Big Day Out, Future Music Festival, Stereosonic and Soundwave).

PRIMARY TICKETING Australasia’s ticketing industry is dominated by Ticketek and Ticketmaster, in that order, with both companies having changed hands in recent years. The former, as part of TEG Live, is now aligned with Dainty Group, which is producing tours for Katy Perry, Queen & Adam Lambert, and others. TEG Live also owns Eventopia, a self-service ticketing platform, and further afield recently acquired TicketCharge in Malaysia, as part of its ambitious Pacific Rim expansion plan.

There is also a handful of independent companies and scores of small-scale and DIY outfits, perhaps a hundred or more, jostling for a foothold in Australia’s billion dollar-plus live entertainment space. One significant player in the DIY sector is QPAC which uses the Enta ticketing platform across a number of venues.

Australia’s economy has remained buoyant, though the dollar has lost ground to the Euro. Its population has nudged past 24m, many of whom are relatively affluent and tech savvy meaning paperless ticketing has been widely accepted. But what goes up does eventually come down, and Australia’s live space did just that in 2015 and into 2016. Those soft months appear to be a thing of the past. “We’ve got the biggest summer of all time. And there’s a couple of big tours to come,” enthuses FTC’s Gudinski. “But I’m not putting my feet up on the desk here thinking it’s going to be easy.

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES AUSTRALIA

It’s very dangerous out there. A lot of people are getting carried away with packages. Ticket price is premium.”

VALUE OF MARKET After a phase of robust growth, Live Performance Australia (LPA) reported that revenue shrank 6.7% year-on-year to AU$1.41bn (€958m) in 2015, the most recent period covered in its Ticket Attendance and Revenue Survey. At the same time, 18.38 million tickets were sold to live performance events, down 1%, as the average ticket price declined by 4.7%, perhaps because there were fewer high-priced events compared to the year before. The trend, though, is up, promoters say. “The market is very healthy for acts the audiences want to see,” says Michael Chugg. “It’s been a great start in the first half of the year for Chugg Entertainment and we’re confident it will continue across all levels of shows and artists.”

SECONDARY TICKETING Scalping, bots, and the secondary market are matters of national interest in Australia right now.

“Scalpers have long been the scourge of the ticketed entertainment sector,” notes Music Australia CEO Chris Bowen, “but the scale has now reached epic proportions, fuelled by digital technologies.” Government has dragged its feet, argues the LPA, which is calling for an intervention to beat the bots. “The UK and US have taken action, but the Turnbull Government is missing in action,” says LPA CEO Evelyn Richardson in a statement. “Bots are a global problem, and Australia should be part of the global response.”

The trade body has an ally in independent senator Nick Xenophon, who in March passed a Notice of Motion calling for laws “to better protect consumers from ticket scalpers.” The motion, introduced in March after scalpers charged extortionate sums for tickets to see Adele and Midnight Oil, enjoyed support from the Opposition, the Greens, and Senators Jacqui Lambie and Derryn Hinch. The motion, however, is yet to be passed into legislation by the government. “It seems that Gudinski and I are left to do all the shouting about this horrible practice,” notes Chugg. “Our push on this is starting to show results, and governments at local, state and federal level are starting to get very active, as are the media.” The LPA has published a guide to help consumers navigate their way through the ticketing minefield. Adding to the confusion is the fact that Australia’s states have different scalping laws.

The industry welcomed another weapon in the fight against touts when Twickets, the fan-to-fan ticket resale platform, opened for business in 2017. “Australia was high on the list of priorities” for the UK-originated business,” says Danny Hannaford, the former Head of Ticketing at UK promoter Global Live, who now heads up Twickets’ Australian operations in Melbourne. “We thought it would be a really interesting market.” The new affiliate got a boost with early endorsements from Ed Sheeran and Midnight Oil ahead of their respective Australian tours. “The timing was great,” Hannaford says.

TAXES AND CHARGES Ticketing companies remain faceless to the majority of concert-goers, but the big two have an enduring image issue.

Some years ago, consumer rights watchdog Choice handed out a Shonky Award for overcharging to both Ticketek and Ticketmaster for their additional service, transaction, delivery and credit-card fees. There is often a 1-3% credit-card surcharge attached to the price of a ticket. Choice is also taking up the cudgel by lodging a complaint with the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) against Ticketmaster Resale and Viagogo, alleging misleading and deceptive conduct. The consumer advocacy group also launched its Ticked Off campaign page,

which invites ticket buyers to share their experiences with online ticket sales. An international report on the ticket resale industry will be published in due course.

It’s not the first time the ACCC has been called in to scrutinise ticketing firms. The watchdog launched a ‘drip-pricing’ investigation into the big two after identifying instances where they “failed to state single minimum total prices.” The ACCC declared in late 2014, that Ticketek and Ticketmaster had agreed to improve their online pricing practices and would now include unavoidable fees earlier in the online booking process.

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES Technology is facilitating an increasing number of transactions Down Under, and smartphones and tablets are emerging as the dominant platforms for all e-commerce, including ticketing. Independent ticketers say roughly 90% of their tickets are sold online (split 50/50 between personal computers and mobile devices). The remainder of sales are facilitated by phone calls (5-6%), outlets (3%) and walk-ups (1-2%).

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES Rock, pop and indie are popular genres with Aussies, and EDM, like elsewhere, is a popular mainstream genre. Country music is also a strong performer. The CMC Rocks QLD festival in March put up the sold-out sign, having attracted more than 15,000 fans across its three-day, tenth anniversary event. Australia’s community of music artists continues to impress abroad and at home where tours by home-grown acts Sia and Midnight Oil are among the hottest on the 2017 calendar.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS In a quirk of the market, a high proportion of medium- to large-sized venues opt for the exclusive ticketing rights model.

The ticketing rights for large venues are sold to the highest bidder or, sources say, to the one with the most influential corporate relationships. Independent promoters are also mindful that two of the leading concert organisers, Live Nation (and Ticketmaster), and Dainty Group (TEG), are affiliated with ticketing groups. “It’s not a comfortable situation, that’s for sure,” says Gudinski. “Do I like it?

Not really. Do I think Australia is backward on ticketing as far as exclusivity? Yes, I do. Do I think they should be doing more about Viagogo? Yes.” The highest bidders are typically Ticketek and Ticketmaster, which jointly account for an estimated 80-90% of Australia’s entertainment ticketing market and dominate the stadium, arena and commercial theatre space. According to Ticketek, it processes 23 million tickets for more than 20,000 events every year. It owns Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena and provides ticketing services to neighbouring ANZ Stadium, and such venues as Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena, Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Suncorp Stadium, Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Perth Arena and Newcastle Entertainment Centre.

The big two “create opportunity for us due to their size and the way they operate,” notes Harley Evans, owner and managing director of Moshtix and The Ticket Group. “Their model doesn’t really suit the live music market that we participate in – their fees are simply too much for consumers to stomach – and the promoters find it hard to get any TLC when their focus is on their large stadium, arena and commercial theatre clients.” It’s a pointless fight, he says. “For us, it’s more about having our own identity as an independent and focusing on differentiators that are meaningful to event organisers, and constantly looking for ways to remove the barriers between the fan and the artist.”

INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017 • 29

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

AUSTRIA Languages: German, Hungarian, Croatian | Population (millions): 8.7 | Currency: Euro | GDP/Capita (US$): 47,900 | Internet Users (millions): 7.3 | Smartphone penetration: 48% | Population % aged 15–24: 11.3 | Population % aged 25–54: 42.7 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 331 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 352

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ccording to Music Austria’s Rainer Praschak, the country’s festival market is reaching saturation point. “Too many festivals,” and a decline in music tourism from the former Eastern bloc have been blamed for the cancellation of a number of events during the summer of 2016.

Eastern and central European countries traditionally lacked world-class events. Today, however, Sziget Festival in Hungary, Exit Festival in Serbia, InMusic in Croatia, and Latvia’s Positivus, to name just a few, are in no way inferior to the offerings in neighbouring countries.

PRIMARY TICKETING Austria’s main ticketing agencies are Oeticket, Wien Ticket, Ticketmaster and Culturall, with Eventim’s Oeticket being the clear market leader. Ticketing is the main growth driver for Eventim, and Austria is no exception. At the end of 2016, the company acquired JetTicket, which specialises in culture and sports genres, along with electronic ticket distributor ÖTS. Ticketmaster has picked up pace since Live Nation opened an Austrian office last year. So far, however, its ticketing activities have been limited to large shows organised by its parent company.

Mobile-only company Ntry still remains active in the market.

SECONDARY TICKETING It’s quite difficult to grasp the importance of secondary ticketing in Austria. Most industry professionals report that the market is virtually negligible, with Viagogo causing most of the ripples. However, since the general ticket volume sold has improved over the years, the secondary market has increased as well.

The Rolling Stones gig in September 2017 at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg prompted several articles in the local press warning customers against the purchase of tickets from unofficial agencies.

cities still welcome many customers at stationery retailers and at the box office, while online is constantly picking up pace. Nothing new there compared to 2016.

Just like with Germany next door, paper tickets are still a favourite. As a result, Eventim’s FanTicket has become a bestseller.

Souvenir tickets are extremely popular.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS One of the unique behaviours of the Austrian public is an emotional reaction to sports, which can immediately affect ticket sales depending on whether a team is doing well or badly. “The better the team, the quicker visitor numbers surge. Unfortunately, the same holds true the other way round,” says Christoph Klingler, CEO of Eventim Austria & CEE. He should know. The company has handled ticketing for the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup in Schladming, the Snowboard World Cup at Kreischberg, and the Red Bull Air Race. It also handles tickets for all the ÖFB (national football association)’s games, along with many for the country’s regional teams, from basketball and football to ice hockey.

One anomaly in Austria is that ticketing agents are treated like artist agents. Therefore, if a gig is cancelled or whatever reason, ticket buyers are directed to the promoter for refunds, rather than the ticketing provider.

TAXES AND CHARGES Oeticket charges the holy trinity of the ticketing sector: shipping, service and presales fees. The VAT in Austria is 13%. The amusement or city tax is still being charged in small cities, and can be as high as 25%. Vienna, Linz and Graz have all scrapped the controversial tax.

VALUE OF MARKET The overall worth of the primary ticketing market is hard to come by. Estimates regarding quantity vary from 60m to 80m tickets sold on average each year.

The country’s federal office of statistics reports that the average Austrian household spends €344 a month on leisure activities, €67 of which are spent on sports and culture, which includes music events.

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES Rock and pop are the most popular genres in the country, based on the 75,000 events Oeticket manages on average, and according to the estimates of other industry players.

The popularity of local acts has increased over the past years.

“Including folk music and Schlager, domestic acts are definitely selling more tickets [than their international counterparts],” Barracuda Music’s Richard Hoermann tells us. Tickets for national acts are also much cheaper than for concerts by international acts.

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES The sales channel used depends on the event genre. Large

30 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

Local act DAME attracted big crowds at FM4 Frequency Festival, promoted by Musicnet Entertainment and ticketed by Eventim affiliate Oeticket.com

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

THE BALTICS Languages: Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian | Population (millions): 1.26 (EE) 1.97 (LV), 2.8 (LT) | Currency: Euro | GDP/Capita (US$): 29,500 (EE), 25,700 (LV), 29,900 (LT) | Internet Users (millions): 1.1 (EE), 1.6 (LV), 2.1 (LT) | Smartphone penetration: 51% (EE), 41.5% (LV), 48.5% (LT) | Population % aged 15–24: 9.3 (EE), 9.9 (LV), 11.6 (LT), 11.1 | Population % aged 25–54: 41.6 (EE), 42.1 (LV), 40.4 (LT)

Black Sabbath’s farewell tour took them to Arēna Rīga where promoters are free to choose their ticketing partners

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earby Poland is these days an integral part of the European live music circuit, and Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are all profiting, providing a cut-through between Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and the Nordics. All three Baltic states have busy and well-visited key cities – Vilnius and Kaunas in Lithuania, Riga in Latvia, and Tallinn in Estonia, where Live Nation’s regional office resides. The western ticketing giants haven’t made a mark yet, though Russia’s Kassir.ru certainly has.

Baltic states, though the combined market was estimated at around €70m a year in 2016, and Andrius Žiauberis, general manager of Lithuania’s Tiketa, reports that there will be around 10% more events in 2017 than there were last year.

PRIMARY TICKETING Baltic Ticket Holdings, owned since 2013 by Kassir.ru – the Russian ticketing operation of entrepreneur Evgeny Finkelstein’s PMI Corporation – plays a strong hand across the Baltic States. It leads the market in all three now, with Estonia’s Piletilevi, Latvia’s Biļešu Serviss and Lithuanian Bilietai.lt – the last of these bought last autumn and combined with Baltic’s Bilietų Pasaulis. Second place in Lithuania goes to Tiketa, while in Latvia the main competition is Biļešu Paradīze.

A newcomer to the scene is Belgian white-label provider Oxynade, which has launched with contracts for Pozitivus Festival and the Palladium Riga.

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES Domestic music is strong in the Baltics, though international traffic is increasingly significant. “We have a really strong live music market, as our domestic musicians are doing more concerts in arenas, and high-quality shows,” says Žiauberis. “Sales, of course, depend on the show. We have some groups and musicians that always sell very well, but not all do.”

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES Online sales and print-at-home tickets continue to be the main ticketing methods, though box offices live on in the Baltic States and mobile continues to increase its share.

VALUE OF MARKET There are no official valuations of the live music market in the

SECONDARY TICKETING As with many developing markets, secondary ticketing has not yet gained significant traction in the Baltics.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS Estonia is remarkably friendly to start-ups, having birthed Skype and TransferWise. Among the current crop of emerging names from Tallinn is mobile ticketing and app developer Festivality.

TAXES AND CHARGES Lithuania and Latvia apply VAT of 21% to concert tickets, while Estonia charges 20%. Lithuania’s performing rights society LATGA and Latvian authors’ society AKKA/LAA levy a 6% tariff, whilst Estonian authors’ society EAU takes 5%.

INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017 • 31

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

BELGIUM Languages: Dutch, French, German | Population (millions): 11.5 | Currency: Euro | GDP/Capita (US$): 45,000 Internet Users (millions): 9.9 Smartphone penetration: 62.9% | Population % aged 15–24: 11.3 | Population % aged 25–54: 40.0 PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 322 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 339

Tomorrowland, with its elaborate stage sets and imaginative marketing strategy has become a global phenomena in the festival scene

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ince it rolled into Belgium in 2014, Ticketmaster’s ability to grab market share has been impressive – driven by its acquisition of incumbent powerhouse Ticketnet, followed by another significant rival, Sherpa.be, as well as favoured status by Live Nation Belgium. But while festivals have the option to choose which ticketing platform best suits their needs, the majority of venues are tied into exclusive ticketing deals, meaning that promoters are usually forced to deal with a specific platform whether they want to or not.

PRIMARY TICKETING Despite Ticketmaster’s land grab, the dominant force in the Belgian market remains Tele Ticket Service (TTS), which, through its long-term venue contracts, ensures that it is still the country’s biggest ticket retailer. With Ticketmaster occupying the numbertwo-position, another sizeable operator in the region is Fnac, while Brussels venue Ancienne Belgique is also a significant player through its in-house ticketing system, powered by Ticketmatic.

Complicating the landscape, although it uses Ticketmaster wherever possible, Live Nation retains a business connection with telecom operator Proximus, whose Proximus Go For Music division uses a TTS platform. TTS also has a healthy relationship with white-label ticketer Oxynade, which runs the TTS Tele Ticket Easy business, catering for smaller promoters, events and venues.

Another headline-grabbing operation is Paylogic, for which, in 2013, SFX paid a reported $16m (€14m) for a 75% stake. Despite the

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bankruptcy of SFX in 2016, Paylogic – which achieved remarkable growth thanks to specialising in ticketing for the electronic music sector – was one of the few assets that SFX management were able to retain and now sits as one of the jewels in the crown of the renamed organisation, LiveStyle Inc. Paylogic has offices in Berlin, Antwerp, Groningen and Amsterdam and has a loyal client portfolio that includes ID&T (Netherlands), André Rieu (worldwide), Amsterdam RAI (Netherlands), Tomorrowland (Belgium), Four Artists (Germany), Sensation (worldwide), I Love Techno (Belgium), Dour Festival (Belgium), Brainpool (Germany), and more than 2,000 other events.

In addition to Oxynade’s white-label products, Belgium is also a stronghold for Dutch B2B provider, TicketScript, which in early 2017 was acquired by Eventbrite, which is noisily building its client base throughout Europe and beyond.

SECONDARY TICKETING Thanks to the foresight of Live Nation Belgium chief, Herman Schueremans, the resale of tickets is banned in Belgium. When he was serving as a politician in the Flemish parliament, Schueremans found an ally in enterprise minister, Vincent Van Quickenborne, who, as a big fan of metal, understood the issues that touts could cause. Between them, they managed to have what Van Quickenborne refers to as “Herman Schueremans’ law” adopted as legislation, thus preventing any of the secondary ticketing companies from setting up in the country. As with elsewhere in Europe where resale is regulated, however, people are still able to trade in tickets using the websites of companies that are based in other territories.

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES Print-at-home is the preferred method of consumers wishing to obtain tickets, meaning that online sales rule the roost in Belgium.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS A bit like Canada, Belgium is a country that is effectively carved into two regions by language – the Flemish-speaking Flanders in the north, and the French-speaking Wallonia south of Brussels (although the capital falls into both camps). This means that some local acts that can sell-out arenas in one part of the country might not be able to fill a club in the other part. But international artists are popular in both, and a large Italian population makes Belgium a popular destination for Italian acts too.

Still fighting the battle against ticket touts, Schueremans is currently waging war on Google and is trying to persuade legislators to look at the way in which the search engine allows secondary ticketing operations to buy prominent listings on the site to entice consumers into breaking Belgian law.

TAXES AND CHARGES The government levies 6% VAT on ticket sales, while ticketing platforms charge anywhere between 5-10% in service fees.

R E T S I G RE !

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INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

BRAZIL Language: Portuguese | Population (millions): 205.8 | Currency: Real | GDP/Capita (US$): 14,800 | Internet Users (millions): 120.7 | Smartphone penetration: 26.3% | Population % aged 15–24: 16.4 | Population % aged 25–54: 43.8 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 144 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 177

T4F using its Tickets For Fun platform enjoyed great success with Justin Bieber in Brazil in 2017

Ingresso.com, which specialises in movie ticket sales but also sells Rock in Rio tickets domestically, is owned by mobile-driven US player Fandango, and its sales grew by 30% in 2016. Latin American mobile commerce company Movile has recently been pumping money and strategic support into mobile projects, having previously invested in Peru-based online ticket seller Cinepapaya – now also owned by Fandango – and in Sympla last summer.

Announcing the latter deal, Movile CEO and founder Fabricio Bloisi made a safe bet when he said: “In the future, people will buy all kinds of tickets through their cell phones. You’ll be able to check the best options near you quickly, according to your taste, and complete the purchase through your smartphone, anywhere.”

VALUE OF MARKET No figure has emerged that either refines or contradicts the suggestion, aired during a Brazilian-themed panel at Midem in 2014, that the Brazilian live music business had a turnover of $5.5bn (€4.8bn).

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razil is the number-one live market in Latin America – a monster of a country that can never be discounted even in tough times like these, with economic, environmental, social and political challenges on all sides. Its ticketing arrangements lie somewhere between old-fashioned booths and a mobile future.

PRIMARY TICKETING Numerous ticketing companies operate in Brazil, including T4F’s Tickets For Fun, Ticket 360, Ingresso.com, Ingresso Rápido and Ingresse. Eventim and Sony are building a Latin American business on the back of their ticketing contract for the 2016 Rio Olympics, while StubHub, which has its own Latin American ambitions, is an international ticketing partner for this year’s 18th Rock in Rio. Eventbrite is active in the same self-service ticketing and event management space, as is Belo Horizonte-based Sympla, which last year bought another rival, Eventick. In 2016, Sympla reached $35m (€31m) in online sales – 180% growth over the preceding year.

To date, the market remains rather regional. “Only a few larger players have established national reach,” says Fernando Cabral, managing director, Eventim Latin America. “At the same time, Brazil is one of CTS Eventim’s growth markets. Our engagement in Brazil has not ended with the extinction of the Olympic fire. On the contrary, thanks to a growing, consumptive population, the Brazilian market offers us good prospects.”

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES Brazil remains a relatively traditional market, with plenty of consumers still preferring to exchange cash at ticketing booths for fraud-proof hard tickets. All major operators of course operate online, but it’s in mobile that the true opportunities lurk, with younger consumers quick to pick up mobile habits.

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SECONDARY TICKETING Brazil has serious means at its disposal for clamping down on resale of sporting tickets for above face value, including one to two years in prison and heavy fines, and it used them around the Rio 2016 Olympics. Nonetheless, secondary sites offer Brazilian shows.

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES Tastes are broad in Brazil, and heavily regionalised domestic musical styles prevail.

“In Rio de Janeiro, funk, samba and pagode are the most popular styles, while in São Paulo, MPB [musical popular Brasileira) and rock have a strong fanbase,” says Donovan Ferreti, CEO of Eventim Brazil.

In the north-east, he adds, they go for forró, samba and MPB. In Minas and Brasilia, it’s country music, techno and pagode.

International music tends to come most often to São Paulo, though Paul McCartney, Maroon Five and other global names will tell you of the warm welcome they received in secondary cities.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS Promoters in Brazil are legally required to make a proportion of tickets available to low-income youths, students and people with disabilities, though some don’t always do so. Last year, Time4Fun and Ticket 360 were fined by the consumer protection agency for irregular ticket sales, including not selling or limiting half-price tickets, not accepting money at physical sales points, charging unjustified fees and not returning full amounts for cancelled events.

TAXES AND CHARGES The online convenience fees charged by ticketing companies have gradually fallen. A 2012 law in Rio states that events with more than 1,000 people can bear a maximum 10% convenience fee, but the rules vary from state to state, and fees can range as high as 30%.

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

BULGARIA

VALUE OF MARKET There are no entities in Bulgaria that calculate the overall worth of either the primary or the secondary market.

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DISTRIBUTION OF SALES Eventim Bulgaria director Miroslav Emanoilov says that, “Box office sales and online sales are almost equal, with online sales constantly increasing. The more expensive the events are (especially sports or entertainment), the more tickets are sold online. Social media is mostly used as an advertising tool.”

While Bulgarians very much favour paper tickets (estimated at 70-80%), both mobile and print-at-home tickets are enjoying an increase in market share.

PRIMARY TICKETING With Eventim ruling the roost, Ticketportal and Ticketpro come in second and third, followed by a couple of local companies with negligible market shares. The only way smaller players like Ticket Logic, ePay.bg, Bgbileti.com, Ticketsbg.com, and Theatre.bg are able to stay afloat in this oversaturated market, is by reducing their commission and in turn offering less services, according to insiders. And that is not a viable strategy.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS “Bulgaria is one of the poorest countries in the EU,” Emanoilov explains. “This impacts the overall spending power and the amount of money people have available to spend on attending events.”

This leads to fierce competition among events, as most customers have to choose carefully which events they will attend.

While there are some local acts that attract big audiences, such as Slavi Trifonov, Grafa, Lili Ivanova, and Vasko Vassilev, international acts usually dominate the sales charts.

SECONDARY TICKETING There aren’t enough events that sell-out and therefore if tickets are resold at all, it is done via websites such as eBay. There are, currently, no specialised resellers.

TAXES AND CHARGES Delivery/pick-up fees are from €1-3. Varying service fees are also added depending on the ticket agency, the ticket price, and the size of the event. VAT is 20%.

Language: Bulgarian | Population (millions): 7.1 | Currency: Lev | GDP/Capita (US$): 20,100 | Internet Users (millions): 4.1 | Smartphone penetration: 52% | Population % aged 15–24: 9.7 | Population % aged 25–54: 43.3

s long as you’re in Europe, chances are that Eventim will dominate any given territory. Bulgaria is no exception and the live entertainment giant is said to control between 55% and 60% of the country’s ticketing activity.

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

CANADA Languages: English, French | Population (millions): 35.4 | Currency: Dollar | GDP/Capita (US$): 46,200 | Internet Users (millions): 31.1 Smartphone penetration: 69.8% | Population % aged 15–24: 12.1 | Population % aged 25–54: 40.3 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 711 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 808

VALUE OF MARKET Ontario is Canada’s most populous province and home to its most important live music city, Toronto, which contributes CAD1.2bn (€0.8bn) to the provincial gross domestic product, according to Music Canada Live executive director Erin Benjamin. While no national study has been done on the live music industry, it’s been estimated that Ontario accounts for about half of the Canadian live event market while Quebec is responsible for about 25%.

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES Quebec, where French is the dominant language, has developed a francophone music scene that supports homegrown and international acts. Yannick Cimon-Mattar, general manager of Quebec-based Thepointofsale.com, estimates that Canadian artists account for 50% of his ticketing company’s music volume. Domestic acts in a wide array of genres continue to successfully perform and tour across the country, though venues generally only reach capacity for the most in-demand shows. Most Canadian concert promoters are local and primarily serve their immediate area.

PRIMARY TICKETING Ticketmaster remains the dominant ticketing company in Canada. However, since market shares aren’t released, it can’t be specifically determined how big a hold Ticketmaster has compared to more recent smaller players in the field, including Ticketfly (now part of Eventbrite), Ticketpro, Thepointofsale.com and Eventbrite.

National promoter Evenko sells its tickets through AEG’s Outbox platform.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS “The economics of live music have fundamentally changed,” says AudienceView vice-president of strategy and product Mike Evenson. “The opportunity to create direct experiences between

36 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

P!nk was one of the star attractions at this year’s Festival d’été de Québec, which is switching its ticketing contract from Intellitix to local companies MTA and Connect&GO

fans and artists is where the major revenue opportunities are in the music industry.”

Toronto-based AudienceView connects live entertainment organisations with audiences by selling software subscriptions to venues and groups that utilise the platform to sell tickets and create live event experiences using their own brand.

SECONDARY TICKETING The secondary ticketing market remains a concern, as brokers using bots continue to scoop up large blocks of tickets as soon as they go on sale. This deprives individual fans from buying them and forces them to purchase from secondary sellers, usually for a much higher price.

Laws vary from province to province. For instance, it’s illegal to sell a ticket for more than its face value without the consent of the promoter in Quebec, while Manitoba is virtually the only jurisdiction in North America where it’s against the law to resell tickets for more than the original price.

The Ontario government is working on amendments to its Ticket Speculation Act in order to: make sure everyone has a fair shot at buying tickets; address consumer concerns about resale prices and service charges; make more information available to consumers when they buy tickets; and make sure laws are enforced. Other provinces are also considering introducing legislation to help reduce fraud and give consumers greater confidence in the tickets they’re purchasing.

TAXES AND CHARGES Ticketmaster charges a convenience fee and, for customers who order online or by phone, an order processing fee. The accumulation of these fees can be as much as 40% of the face value. Other companies may charge similar fees, while others are much lower.

Thepointofsale.com, for instance, has a 99¢ service fee on all tickets above CAD7 and no charge for anything under that. The transaction fee generally goes to 3.9%, including credit-card fees, but it’s waived when the promoter uses his own merchant account.

© Renaud Philippe

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hile a few major music festivals have been cancelled and some noteworthy clubs have closed this year, the Canadian live music market remains healthy and people continue to buy tickets for events they want to see.

Issues with fraud and paperless ticketing system crashes remain concerns, however, and the bombing at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England has made security at venues a bigger priority across the globe.

“The way to fix the system is to regulate it,” says Alan Gelfand, the founder and chief executive officer of Vancouver-based Fair Ticket Solutions. “For security alone, the time has come where you have to know every person in the building.”

Fair Ticket Solutions is an authentication platform that’s preparing for the widespread launch of its authenTICKET, which uses a check-in system prior to entry but without causing delays.

Gelfand says it will eliminate fraud and bots, identify each actual event attendee, and give artists complete control of their tickets from time of sale.

The Fan Entertainment Revolution has finally arrived to LATAM supported by Europe

FA N E X P E R I E N C E

H O S P I TA L I T Y VENUES

TICKETING

November 2017 & 2018

Organising Committee

SHER ATON HOTEL SANTIAGO, CHILE

F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N P L E A S E C O N TA C T

COMERCIAL@EUROLATAMSUMMIT.COM

EUROLATAMSUMMIT.COM

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

CHILE Languages: Spanish | Population (millions): 17.8 | Currency: Peso | GDP/Capita (US$): 24,100 Internet Users (millions): 11.7 | Smartphone penetration: 56% | Population % aged 15–24: 15.0 | Population % aged 25–54: 43.1 PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 31 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 37

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PRIMARY TICKETING A handful of ticketing operators prevail in Chile, including Puntoticket, Ticketek and Ticketpro. Of these, the market-leading Puntoticket has the advantage of an exclusive deal with Santiago’s 15,000-seat Movistar Arena, which represents the key stop for touring international acts. Puntoticket estimates that it holds 70% of the market.

“Competition in Chile is growing fast, with a number of players offering an increasing range of solutions to the industry,” says Puntoticket CEO Raúl Rojas, who lists Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber, U2 and Lollapalooza among recent clients. “We have kept our leadership by focusing on innovation, technology, and the highest level of customer service,” he adds. Puntoticket sells online, via phone, and through Ripley department stores and the Cinemark chain of cinemas.

Ticketpro launched in Chile in 2009 with the aim of majoring in tech-savvy, young audiences, encouraged by Chile’s high rate of Internet and mobile penetration. It has a broad base, including music but also theatre, sport and family entertainment, and also sells through Hites homeware stores and the Sencillito network of offline cash exchanges.

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES According to local promoter Carlos Geniso of DG Medios, promoters can expect to sell around 80% of their tickets online nowadays, with the remaining 20% going through retail outlets including major chain stores, cinemas and a dwindling band of record shops.

Puntoticket puts its overall figure at around 70:30, and expects a growing mobile channel to further skew the balance towards online. “Technology is certainly impacting the industry, as consumers increasingly interact with us in a digital manner,” says Rojas. “The market is moving towards doing everything in a mobile and paperless way. We are adapting to it at the necessary pace.

Ticket buyers also demand a technological solution able to correctly respond to picks of huge demand on ticket sales in any given moment, so we need to make sure we are ready to deliver when those picks come.”

Print-at-home tickets have not taken off for cultural reasons, says Geniso, and home delivery is prevalent. Ticketpro has always pushed e-tickets and sold paperless tickets in large quantities for some of the matches at 2015’s Copa America. “In the future, technology will be on your wrist or in your watch or on your phone – that’s the way it is going,” says Geniso.

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DG Medios promoted Slayer when they played at the Movistar Arena in Santiago in May 2017

VALUE OF MARKET There are no published estimates of the value of the Chilean live business.

SECONDARY TICKETING Back in 2011, now-defunct social ticketing network Picket used Chile as a test market. These days, Viagogo is the most prominent secondary channel.

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES The capital Santiago is by far the largest city in Chile, with a population of more than 7m in the greater Santiago area that dwarves any other centre in the country. The capital is overwhelmingly the main destination for international and regional acts, and has an appetite for the best of each.

“Chile has become a good market for a wide range of styles,” says Rojas. “Some of the shows that have sold well lately or are selling well now include Bruno Mars, U2, Santiago Rock City, and also festivals like Lollapalooza.”

CULTURAL ANALYSIS The Movistar Arena is the envy of virtually every nation on the continent. Meanwhile, in a continent of poor roads and inconceivably long distances, Santiago is easily routed from Buenos Aires, a two-hour flight or a lengthy but straightforward 1,500km drive away.

TAXES AND CHARGES VAT in Chile is 19%. Service charges on tickets tend to stand at around 15% of face value.

© Jaime Valenzuela

ot the largest economy in South America, but the richest and sturdiest in terms of its GDP per head, long, thin Chile on the continent’s Atlantic coast has historically been the third in a touring triumvirate with Brazil and Argentina, its key city of Santiago routing easily with Argentina’s Cordoba and Buenos Aires. Even as the continent develops as a market, Chile remains a much-visited stop for both Latin and Englishlanguage artists.

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

CHINA Languages: Mandarin, Cantonese | Population (millions): 1,382.3 | Currency: Yuan Renminbi | GDP/Capita (US$): 14,600 Internet Users (millions): 687.8 | Smartphone penetration: 51.7% | Population % aged 15–24: 13.3% | Population % aged 25–54: 48.4% PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 233 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 301

AEG promoted Metallica at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai using Damai as its ticketing partner

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here have been some dramatic market shifts in China recently with the big ticketing players launching other services and side-lining many of the once leading small- to medium-sized ticketing services that don’t offer other services. The highest revenue growth was in the movie-theatre sector with small increases in concert ticketing revenues.

The digital music market rose dramatically in 2016 due to new anti-piracy laws. The result was more services becoming available online and on mobile. Amongst this was a 75% increase in the streaming of songs by Western artists with the overall result of this trend being that China moved from being the 14th largest music market in the world, to the 12th in a period of just one year. The dramatic rise in revenues coupled with changing laws should have a positive influence on the live music market in coming years.

The live music scene continues to grow, with more local artists playing at more live music venues. There has also been an increase in audience appetite, although the number of international artists visiting Chinese venues has been limited. The government banned several artists from touring the country, including Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga and Selina Gomez, who all had major outings in 2016, but missed out China.

PRIMARY TICKETING With a large population and many events, there are hundreds of ticketing choices, ranging from local to national. While all venues also sell tickets via their own box offices, which include

40 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

online sales, there are several major online players that are used by the vast majority of concert-goers. These include Damai, 228, Piao, Piaobuy, Piao88, Tickets 365 and Mypiao.

Paper tickets with holographic seals or barcodes are most often used for bigger events to allow for quick scan and entry.

There is a move towards the sole use of electronic tickets at larger and newer venues. Festivals, multiday events and exhibitions still prefer to use wristbands.

Maoye, Alibaba, TaoPiaoPiao and Nuomi are major players that are backed by major Internet corporations whose focus is mostly on cinema tickets. An estimated 76% of all tickets sold are for movies, and total box-office revenues are worth an estimated ¥44.4bn (€5.6bn).

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES China has six cities with a population of over 10 million (Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Tianjin, Chengdu and Guangzhou) and another 12 cities with a population of over six million. These are the best markets for touring international artists, but in most cases, major promoters remain focussed on Beijing and Shanghai.

Smaller venues rely on their own box-office sales, especially if ticket prices do not exceed ¥300 (€37.6).

VALUE OF MARKET There is no official body that collects ticketing data in China.

However, an assumption can be made on the basis of music sales,

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES CHINA

which consists of approximately 80% Chinese artists, 10% J-Pop or K-Pop artists, and 10% international. The total value of the music market is estimated at ¥6,298m (€691m) with the live music market worth an estimated ¥1,553m (€195m). However, it is widely believed that the value of the market in China is being severely underestimated and, add to this the increasing number of sporting events, festivals, visual arts and other outdoor events, it’s easy to see the value of the market increasing exponentially.

SECONDARY TICKETING Ticket scalping is a time-honoured tradition in China.

Scalpers with good tickets are always on hand at any event that requires a ticket. Before live entertainment began to take off, scalpers used to sell movie tickets, so it is standard practice to buy tickets from scalpers for convenience or to obtain better seats.

Today, scalpers operate online and, for a fee, they will also deliver tickets to your home/office. Scalpers work with venues to buy up blocks of tickets, giving promoters a way to sell large quantities quickly, reducing their risk. Indeed, scalpers also take trade-ins in order that people can upgrade their seating.

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES China’s middle class has been developing rapidly and their purchasing power continues to grow. There is a growing demand for international cultural events – not just music. New promoters are entering the live event market to present everything from film and music festivals, to dance, theatre and classical. A growing number of J-Pop and K-Pop artists are starting to enter China, while meet-and-greet packages are becoming more common.

With a cash-rich teenage audience, this is becoming one of the fastest growth sectors.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS There are several interesting observations about the Chinese market: n Live streaming of events is big business, usually viewed on mobile devices. For a small fee, fans can access the concert they just saw for the 48-hour period following the event. Big corporations, such as Tencent, have 77% of the streaming business, with 600 million active users but only 15 million subscribers. The conversion rate of just 3% versus the traditional 20–30% gives them a positive outlook on the future of streaming. n While the nation’s one-child policy has been overturned to allow for up to two children, those children are spoiled with six doting parents/grandparents granting their every wish. Teenagers drive the vast majority of live and music purchases, with many willing to spend large sums on them. n Large blocks of tickets are removed from the pool for officials who assist with the realisation of an event. In many instances, these will be the best seats in the house. This is a tradition that will not be going away anytime soon.

TAXES AND CHARGES Withholding tax for visiting artists is 20%. VAT is 17%, and an additional entertainment tax of 5–20% is also applied, depending on the type of event and price of tickets. Large ticketing companies charge 20–30% as commission for ticket sales, while the smaller ones charge 5–20%.

The National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, known locally as ‘The Giant Egg’, enjoys a prestigious reputation among touring productions

INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017 • 41

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

CZECH REPUBLIC Language: Czech | Population (millions): 10.6 | Currency: Koruna | GDP/Capita (US$): 33,200 | Internet Users (millions): 8.7 | Smartphone penetration: 64.8% | Population % aged 15–24: 9.9 | Population % aged 25–54: 43.8 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 37 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 38

T

he popularity of budget airlines has made Prague one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe, and many visitors take advantage of comparatively lower ticket prices to plan their trips around key tour dates at the city’s O2 Arena.

German cities including Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Nuremburg and Munich are all within driving distance meaning that fans that miss out on shows in their home city often look to the Czech date as a back-up.

PRIMARY TICKETING Ticketportal enjoys a 60% market share in its home market, with the remainder divided among platforms including Ticketpro (now owned by Ticketmaster), TicketStream and TicketArt, the latter of which is a promoter of its own musicals and other shows.

When it comes to festival season, many tickets are sold via promoters’ websites.

Slovakia’s Predpredaj operation has an affiliate (Předprodej.cz) specialising in the cultural, sports and music side of the business, while Eventim also has a presence in the country, although it mostly deals with inventory for events in Germany and Austria.

In early 2016, ticketing brokers Six Dots (which runs both Ticketon and Bohemia Ticketing platforms) acquired a 60% stake in TicketStream and declared lofty ambitions of becoming the dominant force in the Czech Republic by 2019. The company’s strategy, if it is to achieve such a goal, remains unclear. Six Dots may well be planning to challenge Ticketportal for the O2 Arena contract when the current deal expires, but rumours abound that powerhouses Eventim and Ticketmaster may also be set to bid for

Live Nation relied on Ticketportal and Ticketpro to sell out its Robbie Williams show at Letňany Airport

that lucrative contract, which will effectively dictate who is top dog in the country.

SECONDARY TICKETING As one of the more mature central European live entertainment markets, the Czech Republic attracts many international touring artists, luring fans from surrounding countries to attend shows in Prague, especially. That success brings with it a growing secondary ticketing sector, which Ticketportal managing director Lucia Bočánková reveals, “This year, is even more obvious.”

She reports that Ticketonlineshop offers resale, but it is likely its position has weakened because of Viagogo’s aggressive marketing tactics. Bočánková highlights Viagogo’s “misleading Google ads” which claim the company is an official ticketing seller, as being a particularly thorny issue.

VALUE OF MARKET Market leading ticketers Ticketportal estimate that the Czech Republic is worth between CZK2.5-3bn (€96-114m) across the board, with live music accounting for roughly 40% of that total.

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES The popularity of an artist or event can distort normal trends, with hot shows selling up to 80-90% of tickets online. However, on average, physical outlets sell about 60% of inventory throughout the country, compared to 40% online purchases. Fans still like to have an actual ticket as a souvenir.

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES Domestic talent does well throughout the Czech Republic, but when it comes to arena shows and larger, it’s the international acts that hold the upper hand, as very few home-grown stars are able to sell out the larger venues.

In terms of genres, metal is the most popular, with rock and international pop stars also among the big sellers. Musical theatre is also a big draw.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS As Prague is on the list of many A-list artists, Czech nationals are not as easily swayed as some of their neighbours to cross borders for their entertainment fix.

Bočánková believes that the Czech Republic is oversaturated when it comes to the number of ticketing operations that serve the population. “Every new app or ticketing platform thinks that selling tickets is so easy that anyone can do it… but they soon find out that is not the case.”

TAXES AND CHARGES Promoters pay 15% in VAT on ticket sales, while ticketing companies typically add between 10-20% in commission. These fees are included in the face value seen by fans. The city of Prague also levies a 2.5% cultural charge on all ticketed events of 1,000-capacity and upwards.

42 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

DENMARK Language: Danish | Population (millions): 5.6 | Currency: Krone | GDP/Capita (US$): 46,600 | Internet Users (millions): 5.4 | Active Smartphones (millions): 4.5 | Population % aged 15–24: 13.1 | Population % aged 25–54: 38.9 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 248 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 242

© Flemming Bo Jensen

Arcade Fire proved a huge draw at Roskilde Festival 2017, which uses Ticketmaster to sell passes

D

enmark is a growth market for live music. Nearly half of Danes saw a non-classical concert between September 2015 and September 2016, rising to 51% of 30-39 year olds [source: Dansk Live], and enthusiasm was evenly spread across the country’s four largest cities: Copenhagen, Aarhus, Odense and Aalborg. International acts have been pouring in, drawn partly by the capital city’s new Royal Arena, and events such as Roskilde, Smukfest, Jelling Musikfestival, NorthSide and Tinderbox that underpin a thriving festival sector.

PRIMARY TICKETING Ticketmaster Denmark and Eventim-backed Billetlugen go head to head in Denmark, each taking around 40% of the ticketing pie, with Billet.dk, Billetten and other smaller players such as the Royal Opera House splitting the remainder. TM is growing thanks to its contract with sister operation Live Nation.

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES Denmark is fully on board with mobile ticketing. “More and more customers – especially the younger demographic – like to use mobile tickets,” says Jakob Lund, managing director of Ticketmaster Denmark and Finland.

Around three-quarters of tickets are e-tickets or print-at-home.

The rest are traditional paper tickets, mainly distributed from box offices, though the physical numbers are guaranteed to keep sliding, slowed mainly by the popularity of collector tickets.

“The vast majority of tickets are sold online and on mobile,” says Lund. “This is particularly true for the most in-demand events, though we do still have some box office outlets and our call centre processing sales as well.”

VALUE OF MARKET In 2016, live accounted for 60% of Denmark’s overall music revenues, turning over DKK4.5bn (€610m), of which DKK1.7bn

(€230m) went on tickets, with other large chunks on music tourism, music export, sponsorship, merchandise and other areas [source: Dansk Musikomsætning 2016].

SECONDARY TICKETING Touting for profit is illegal in Denmark, so secondary ticketing has not emerged as an industry issue. However, resale does not stop at the territory’s borders, therefore secondary transactions in neighbouring countries can be problematic.

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES Copenhagen is second only to Stockholm as a Nordic touring destination, and while Denmark produces less exported talent than Sweden, Lukas Graham and Iceage fly the flag, and plenty of other local artists maintain a domestic live following.

“We have extremely devoted local venues and promoters in Denmark, which means we have a very active local artist scene, in addition to many international artists in the country every year,” says Lund.

In common with many markets, non-music events are also burgeoning. “Our primary segment [at Ticketmaster] is contemporary music in concerts, festivals and clubs,” says Lund.

“However, we are seeing a significant growth in comedy, musicals, theatre, classical and family events. With the Ice Hockey World Championship coming up in 2018, we are going to see an increase in ticket sales for sport in the near future too.”

CULTURAL ANALYSIS Copenhagen’s Live Nation-operated, 16,000-capacity Royal Arena opened in February 2017 with three sold-out shows

by Metallica, the new arena effect shunting the Danish capital up the international live standings. Metallica – whose drummer Lars Ulrich may well be Denmark’s most famous musician – are back in September to play a rescheduled fourth date, and Ricky Gervais, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Sting, and John Legend are also coming through.

Festival ticket sales have been notably brisk in 2017, with Smukfest selling 28,000 tickets in five hours and NorthSide booker John Fogde predicting that this year would top all previous years. “The Danish population loves live events,” confirms Lund.

Interestingly, many Danes still prefer to travel to the Malmö Arena rather than the new Royal Arena in Copenhagen because of the better transport links they have become acquainted with over the years.

TAXES AND CHARGES On the majority of Danish retail products, including most tickets, there is a 25% VAT charge, which, added to a 5.5% PRS levy, takes more than 30% of the face value of every ticket. However, many venues and events in Denmark are non-profit and therefore exempt from VAT. Usually, ticketing companies charge a ticket fee of somewhere between €3 and €5, with a varying fee on credit-card transactions.

INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017 • 43

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

FINLAND Language: Finnish | Population (millions): 5.5 | Currency: Euro | GDP/Capita (US$): 40,600 | Internet Users (millions): 5.1 | Smartphone penetration 2017: 76.4% | Population % aged 15–24: 11.6 | Population % aged 25–54: 37.9 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 99 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 92

W

ell known for its strong rock scene, Finland has a busy domestic live music market – which is particularly useful when nearby Russia isn’t getting on well with Europe and shows in nearby St Petersburg thin out.

Geopolitical routing issues aside, Finland has plenty of music fans and some notably tight competition, with Live Nation and FKP Scorpio’s Fullsteam duking it out on the promoting side, and CTS Eventim’s Lippupiste (Lippu) and Ticketmaster doing battle over tickets.

PRIMARY TICKETING In market share terms, the perception is that Ticketmaster now rules the roost, thanks to its recent contract with the No.1 venue, the Hartwall Arena. However, Finnish Trade Register figures give Lippu.fi revenues of €11.5m, Ticketmaster €8.2m, and Tiketti €2.5m. “What is noteworthy, however, is that Ticketmaster made a €1.6m loss where Lippu.fi did €2m profit,” says Mari Hatakka, Lippu sales director, culture and live entertainment.

Most of Finland’s biggest festivals give ticketing allocations to a couple of players. Some use a combination of Lippu, Tiketti and Ticketmaster, and some Live Nation events only use Ticketmaster.

The biggest venues usually have exclusive relationships, the biggest being Helsinki’s Hartwall, which recently switched from Lippu to Ticketmaster. Clubs have traditionally been more likely to use only one channel, though split allocations are becoming more common. Theatre and sports are exclusive.

New arenas under construction in Helsinki (the 10,500-capacity Garden Helsinki) and Tampere (the 11,000-cap Tampere Arena) could impact the live entertainment scene, but it’s likely the Hartwall will retain its top slot for international touring artists.

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES The majority of the tickets distributed in Finland are now e-tickets and mobile tickets, according to Jakob Lund, managing director of Ticketmaster Denmark and Finland. “The rest are paper tickets and collector tickets, which are very popular here. Last year, we also launched our first collector shirt; these are T-shirts that have a unique barcode on them, meaning that your T-shirt is your ticket.”

Thanks to high Internet and mobile penetration, Finland has always been in the vanguard of digital change, and the market makes the most of technology in its ticketing.

“Our efforts in the digitisation of marketing and customer service have been well received,” says Hatakka. “The rate of Internet and mobile is growing like everywhere else.”

Lippu stresses its commitment to digital customer service and using its data to sharpen promoters’ marketing, and while there are few established home-grown ticketing technology start-ups, the Eventim-owned company has been offering the Eventim.Light self-ticketing system since spring.

VALUE OF MARKET The Finnish music industry is worth in excess of €850m a year, of which live accounts for more than 50% [source: Finnish

44 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

Lippupiste sold out back-to-back shows at Hartwall Arena for Profeetat, promoted

by Fullsteam

performing rights society Teosto]. Anecdotally, roughly 20m tickets are sold each year, with half upfront and half on the door.

SECONDARY TICKETING Ticketmaster’s Seatwave launched in Finland in September 2016, and Viagogo and StubHub also cater to the Finnish market.

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES Given western sentiment against Russia, Finland’s gig scene currently skews heavily towards domestic and regional talent, though international stars continue to come. Sting, Adam Lambert and Queen, and Metallica all have the Hartwall Arena booked at some point in the next 12 months, and Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Killers, Lana Del Rey, The xx, and Frank Ocean were all due to play Finnish festivals this summer. Big festival brands in the market include Provinssi, Ruisrock, Ilosaarirock and Flow Festival, and local crowd-pullers include rock heroes Nightwish and HIM, reunited 1990s stars Ultra Bra, hip-hop supergroup Profeetat, and pop-rock festival regulars Haloo Helsinki!

“Finnish music has always been popular, but over the last few years it has become even more so,” says Lund. “Finnish fans love metal and hard rock music. Finnish pop music has always been very popular, and recently rap and EDM have grown in popularity.”

CULTURAL ANALYSIS The new 13,000-seat Tampere Arena, due to open in 2020, is touted as the most modern multipurpose arena in Northern Europe. The venue was central to Finland’s successful bid for the 2022 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, and the 13,431-seat Hartwall Arena also doubles as a key stadium for the sport.

TAXES AND CHARGES 10% VAT applies on ticket sales, and service fees vary between €1.50 and €4.50, plus delivery fees where applicable, and a 1% charge for paying by credit card.

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FRANCE

© Pierre Hennequin

Language: French | Population (millions): 66.8 | Currency: Euro | GDP/Capita (US$): 42,400 | Internet Users (millions): 56.4 Smartphone penetration: 65.3 | Population % aged 15–24: 11.8 | Population % aged 25–54: 38.0 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 1,035 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 1,056

Gérard Drouot Productions, which handles its own ticketing arrangements, promoted Asaf Avidan at the magnificent Opéra Garnier, Paris in March 2017

D

ark times in France seem gradually to have lifted in the past year or so, as the live industry got its preferred president in Emmanuel Macron and witnessed the return of consumers who’d lost the concert habit in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015.

In March 2017, French concert promoters’ association Prodiss announced that the nation’s live music market had begun to bounce back as summer got under way, citing record revenues of €33m from ticket taxes. The recovery was spearheaded by the reopening of Paris’s 20,300-cap AccorHotels Arena, as well as by what turned out to be a banner year for France’s top music festivals, which last summer attracted their highest combined attendance in half a decade.

Some 3.5m fans – an 11% increase on 2015 – attended the top 30 festivals, of which the largest, Les Vieilles Charrues in Brittany, and the two-week Jazz In Marciac, saw attendances of more than 250,000 each.

“The impact of the attacks [on Le Bataclan and Stade de France] was felt very violently on concert attendance until June 2016,” Prodiss president Luc Gaurichon told a Prodiss conference in March, “[but concertgoers] returned in the second half of the year.”

But when shadows fall again, ticket buyers are evidently still prone to get spooked. Sales reportedly tumbled temporarily in

46 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

May this year as uncertainty prevailed over the possible outcome of the presidential election – won in the end by the liberal candidate Macron over far-right figure Marine Le Pen. PRIMARY TICKETING Entertainment retailer Fnac, which operates France Billet, Carrefour Spectacles and its own Fnac Spectacles ticket agency, is the general market leader in France. It sells nearly 14m tickets a year through its online platform and its network of more than 1,200 physical points of sale, including the national Fnac chain of music stores, which has performed strongly under recently departed Fnac Darty CEO Alexandre Bompard.

In March, Fnac announced a strategic partnership with Deezer in which the music-streaming service recommends Fnacticketed concerts, with then-CEO Bompard describing “a virtuous ecosystem for the distribution of music.” The retail group’s other ticketing interests include the Tick&Live white-label service.

In second place in the French market is Ticketmaster, the middle-market choice, which sells tickets online and through a network that includes supermarket chains Auchan and Carrefour.

Third-placed pure player Digitick is strong in alternative shows, and is owned by Vivendi, which has also held a 15% stake in Fnac since April 2016. Vivendi Ticketing CEO Rob Wilmshurst oversees

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES FRANCE

both Digitick and the UK’s See Tickets, and says the extent of the differences between the ticketing models of Britain and France is surprisingly great.

Depicting the French business, Wilmshurst describes “tighter regulation, licensing, multiple tax rates with application rules that are hard to reconcile to systemised logic, and complicated technical tie-ups between systems that look a good idea on paper but in reality are inefficient and, in my opinion, a drag on sales.”

In its eccentricities, France is something of an island, though the market is structurally a robust one with no fear of digital and no great shortage of competition.

“France is actually quite different from most of Europe in ticketing practice,” says Wilmshurst. “It’s a healthy market and we are coming from a different position there, but we have big plans and I am very positive about our future.”

Eventim also has a presence in France, largely around musical theatre, and senior manager Marc Fettes also points to better times. “Despite the 2015 attacks, the joy and happiness experienced at live events remain the main factors for attending a show. There is a study that says about 66% of French people believe live entertainment is [an important method] of fighting the crisis atmosphere in the country.”

Other primary ticketing companies in France include online sellers Placeminute and Festik. E-commerce fashion specialist Vente-Privée, already a ticket seller in its own right with 8m sales in the past eight years, in May launched a new discount ticket service, Panda Ticket. The new platform, a rival to such sites as Billetreduc. com and Ticketac.com, draws inventory from Fnac’s France Billet and allows customers to buy tickets for shows, concerts and experiences at up to 50% off, with deals only available for up to five days at a time, and usually months in advance. The aim is to generate quick cash for promoters and theatrical producers, and to offer an early indication of demand. Vente-Privée also owns a controlling stake in Weezevent, a self-ticketing platform for long-tail venues and promoters and festivals.

In the general tradition of experimental ticketing business models, a new subscription service, GuestMe, launched in Paris

© René Garcia

Eurockéennes uses its own website, Festicket, and Ticketmaster to sell its tickets

in October 2016, offering users access to unlimited concerts and events in the capital.

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES France has a strong legacy of retail ticket sales, as well as a thriving e-commerce culture, and its ticketing business continues to live happily across physical and virtual platforms.

“In France, the most popular sales channels are online and via outlets,” says Ticketmaster France’s managing director Francois Thominet. “Online sales are still mainly on desktop, although mobile is increasing. Traditional paper tickets are commonplace in outlets. Online, customers mainly choose print-at-home tickets.”

The sale of concert tickets via mobile is by far the fastest growing online ticketing segment. In 2015, Ticketmaster saw its mobile apps downloaded by 21m people, and its mobile ticket sales grew by 20% during that period, accounting for 21% of total volume sales.

VALUE OF MARKET Each year in France, over 58,000 shows take place and more than 20m French people attend one. The live music industry in France generates somewhere between €1.3bn and €1.9bn, of which around €750m is in ticket sales [source: Prodiss].

SECONDARY TICKETING Secondary ticketing is forbidden in France by a law that prevents anyone from reselling a ticket except with the authorisation of the event’s organiser. No such law exists next door in Switzerland, however, and Swiss-based Viagogo, for one, has few qualms about conducting its French business from across the border. There are ongoing legal proceedings against Viagogo regarding the UEFA European Championship in 2016.

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES France has a strong music scene of its own, and the domestic share of ticket sales is estimated at around 60-70%.

“Pop and rock, and French variety are the most popular genres of music in our market, with EDM, rap, hip-hop, reggae, jazz and blues also well-loved,” says Thominet.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS Cashless payments have rapidly found their place in France.

Paris-based Weezevent has taken its cashless solution to 60 of the top 100 French festivals – including Live Nation France’s Download Paris and new entrant Lollapalooza Paris – accumulating an 80% share of the cashless payments market. In 2016, Weezevent managed more than €36m worth of transactions for around 3.5m unique customers.

But even as the live market finds its feet again, it is clear that live music now comes at an increased price. CNV’s Festivals of Contemporary Music in 2016 report, which surveyed 87 events, found France’s festivals spent a combined €3.74m on security last year – an average of €13,613 each per day – with security, logistical and technical costs jumping 11% between 2015 and 2016. Spend on security, CNV estimates, now makes up 3% of the average festival’s entire budget.

TAXES AND CHARGES VAT often applies to concert tickets, albeit in several bands ranging from nothing up to 20%, depending on the type of event and the number of shows. Collection society SACEM levies a charge of 8.8% of the ticket’s face value, and the French tax on shows is a further 3.5% of face value.

INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017 • 47

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

GERMANY Languages: German | Population (millions): 80.7 | Currency: Euro | GDP/Capita (US$): 48,200 | Internet Users (millions): 70.8 | Smartphone penetration: 68.8% | Population % aged 15–24: 10.2 | Population % aged 25–54: 41.0 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 2,135 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 2,242

© Kai Markuske

FKP Scorpio uses its festival websites to sell tickets, or parent company CTS Eventim’s ticketing platform

E

ventim still reigns supreme in Germany, and recently featured in the country’s main commercial journal Handelsblatt on its list of best German merchants. In the online retailer category, Eventim came in just behind Amazon in terms of service value. Due to its size, the anti-trust authority is constantly scrutinising the company, and therefore whether or not it can retain its ongoing strategy of acquisitions, remains to be seen.

PRIMARY TICKETING During a recent enquiry into Eventim’s controlling stake in promoter FKP Scorpio, Germany’s anti-trust authority (Bundeskartellamt) stated that the company controls around 50-70% of Germany’s ticketing market, followed by Reservix/ AdTicket (10-25%), and Der Ticketservice (5-15%). All the other ticketing companies together, including Live Nation’s Ticketmaster, share less than 5% of the market based on turnover, according to the Bundeskartellamt. This ranking, however, is questionable, since Der Ticketservice uses Eventim’s systems and therefore forms part of Eventim’s stats.

According to Musikwoche, Bundeskartellamt estimates also contradict claims made by Ticketmaster during its Ticketforum, held in Berlin in June, in which the company alleged that it held the second position in the ticketing market. Ticketmaster reported that its customer base had grown 27% since 2016, and that 2.6m tickets had been sold through affiliates and partnerships. Other industry professionals, however, suggest that Ticketmaster is the third

48 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

biggest retailer in Germany. Whatever the truth, Ticketmaster’s business is growing as it grabs allocations in music and sport.

SECONDARY TICKETING There is a resale market in Germany but it’s not nearly as significant as in comparable territories, which is also why there are no concrete numbers available. The consumer culture in Germany means that secondary ticketing is looked upon unfavourably by most ticket-buyers, making it a less attractive region to enter for the big secondary players such as Viagogo, Seatwave, Stubhub and co. According to Arndt Scheffler, CEO of white label eCommerce GmbH, a functioning secondary market only really exists in the sports sector.

The sports market is not only being served by the aforementioned secondary players but by the sports clubs themselves. “After initial attempts by the clubs to enter into co-operation with companies such as Viagogo against payment of high sums, the reaction of fans ensured that the clubs had to correct their adopted course. Since then, the clubs rely on their own solutions, which are realised with their ticketing partners (CTS Eventim/FanSale, SAP, GOB),” Scheffler explains.

TAXES AND CHARGES Germany’s statutory tax rate is 19%. Whether an event is exempt from that depends on its cultural value, which is subject to attestation by authorities at federal state level. Tickets for theatres,

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concerts, museums, circuses, and similar events pay a reduced VAT rate of 7%. There is no VAT charged for revenues generated by federal and municipal institutions and the events they put on, such as theatrical events, orchestral performances, chamber ensembles, choirs etc.

Booking fees on tickets usually range between 7% and 12% of the basic ticket price. Almost all ticketing operators charge an additional €1 service fee on each ticket sold, but this can vary depending on the ticket price. Some ticketing systems charge additional fees for connecting the promoter or other vendors to their systems. Fees for print-at-home, shipping, and other handling or administration fees are commonly added.

The unjustifiable print-at-home fee is currently being contested in German courts in a case involving Eventim. The district court of Bremen has ruled that the fee is unacceptable. Eventim appealed against this but the regional appeals court upheld the ruling.

Eventim is currently re-appealing at the federal supreme court, where the verdict is still pending.

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES Rock and pop are still bestsellers in Germany, although alternative genres and forms of entertainment are gaining in popularity according to Myticket.de’s Kai Ricke: “The concert market has changed significantly in past years. Many customers are open to new things.”

The peculiar schlager genre is still huge in Germany and is one of the reasons the demand for concerts by German acts has been steadily increasing in recent years. German rap music is another driver of this phenomenon. Kai Ricke estimates that around 40% of tickets sold are for national acts.

Klaus Zemke, MD of Ticketmaster Germany, says that, “When it comes to ticket sales, a strong surge of local acts recently has swung the balance in favour of German artists, with national acts representing around 60% of sales.”

The AEG-run MercedesBenz Arena in Berlin is an open venue that allows promoters to choose their own ticketing partners

50 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

CULTURAL ANALYSIS Germans traditionally shy away from anything non-physical and are skeptical of online offers and payment technologies in general. Hence, the uptake of RFID has been comparatively slow in Germany, and colourful paper tickets are still king.

Ticket prices in general are lower than in comparable markets such as the UK, although some major festivals have begun to increase their prices. It is only recently that consumers have had to pay more than €200 for a three-day ticket (including camping) at one of Germany’s flagship festivals.

Due to its history of federalism, Germany is not one homogenous market, and therefore different regions have different infrastructures. Hence, local promoters still retain a strong position in their particular geographical market. This also explains why regional ticket agencies, such as München Ticket and Easy Ticket Service from In.stuttgart.de, are still able to operate successfully.

According to Ricke, customers’ awareness of fake tickets has increased, and ticket-buyers are getting increasingly savvy when it comes to the question of where to buy.

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES Online distribution has surged in Germany in the last five years. More than half of the tickets sold in Germany are done so online. Close to 70% of those transactions are completed using mobile devices. “Even older ticket-buyers don’t shy away from ordering tickets online,” Scheffler reports.

This, of course, leads to diminishing sales at the box office.

Print-at-home tickets probably won’t ever lose their appeal, especially for those who are undecided and/or like to wait until the last minute to purchase tickets. Currently around 25% of tickets sold are of the print-at-home variety. DEAG’s Myticket.de must feel vindicated by those numbers, as since its inception in 2014, the company has operated as an online-only agency.

None of the industry experts that ITY interviewed believe that the German ticketing market is oversaturated.

There always seem to be ways of improving the buying experience, in order to make it ever easier for customers to get their hands on tickets. And whilst it may be difficult for newcomers to get a foot in the market, it’s certainly not impossible.

The popularity of online tickets also means that white-label solutions have become more attractive for promoters who want to retain control of pricing and charges. They also love the fact that white-label solutions don’t hide customer and purchasing data, such as conversion rates, but make it available to their clients.

According to anti-trust authority data, 40% of all live entertainment tickets are bought at the box office, and another 40% are purchased online.

Classical concerts and opera attract more people at the box office than do rock concerts, where the majority of tickets are bought online.

“Against the general expectation, the trend of buying tickets online isn’t that distinct anymore: between 2011 and 2013 this amount even decreased slightly (by 2%) in favour of the [bricks and mortar] box offices. […]Thus, the distribution channel of stationary box offices still carries great importance and there is no reason to assume that it will be displaced by online distribution anytime soon,” the Bundeskartellamt reports.

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

GREECE Language: Greek | Population (millions): 10.8 | Currency: Euro | GDP/Capita (US$): 26,800 | Internet Users (millions): 7.2 | Smartphone penetration: 59.5% | Population % aged 15–24: 9.7 | Population % aged 25–54: 42.7 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 124 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 122

in terms of overall worth is impossible to come by.

One unique anomaly in Greece is that ticketers in effect often sell vouchers to events which are swapped for tickets on entry.

This is part of the authorities’ endeavours to collect tax on ticketed events and the practice is more prevalent in sports than music.

TAXES AND CHARGES Not helping in such a climate is 24% VAT paid on all tickets except theatre, where it’s 13%. Credit-card and sales fees are usually charged as well, depending on the company.

G

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES The main points of sale are box offices and online shops, which also explains why paper and print-at-home tickets are the most common forms. Tickets are also sold in stores.

PRIMARY TICKETING Viva is the number one ticketing company in Greece. It sells tickets for anything from music and sport to flights and cruises around the beautiful Greek islands. Ticketservices comes in second.

Ticketmaster entered the market in summer last year, acquiring Tickethour, which at the time reported that it sells more than 8.5m tickets for all kinds of events.

Apart from the main sellers’ own resale points, there is no secondary activity to be observed in the country. Market estimation

CULTURAL ANALYSIS The devastated economy also means that the country’s import of big international tours is limited. National acts make-up the vast majority of the country’s live entertainment market in 2017.

“However,” says Half Note Production’s Mary Telemachou, “even in good economic times the events and ticketing of national acts were substantially higher than that of the international artists.”

The economic crisis did not break peoples’ spirit, Telemachou says: “Greek culture has so much to offer and so many artists, that there is a lot going on, and it’s the Greek people’s way of life to go out and enjoy live music – whether this is a concert or a club or a festival.”

reece has bigger issues at the moment than selling tickets, as it is currently being bled dry by austerity policies decided in Brussels. The population simply doesn’t have the money to spend, Giannis Paltoglou, founder of Detox Events and Ejekt Festival tells ITY.

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INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

HONG KONG Languages: Cantonese, Mandarin, English | Population (millions): 7.2 | Currency: Dollar | GDP/Capita (US$): 58,100 | Internet Users (millions): 6.1 Smartphone penetration: 76.8 | Population % aged 15–24: 10.9 | Population % aged 25–54: 45.3 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 107 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 131

H

© Chris Lusher

ong Kong’s ability to attract large numbers of world-class international events remains hampered by its chronic shortage of available, modern venues. This is unlikely to change in the near term though hope resides with the opening of the much-needed small- and medium-sized centrally located spaces at the West Kowloon Cultural District next year, and further afield, the arrival of Kai Tak Stadium, a multi-purpose sports complex scheduled for completion in 2020.

Notwithstanding Hong Kong’s relatively small size and the lack of venues, the city still manages to attract blue ribbon, arts, cultural, music and sports events such as Art Basel, Clockenflap Festival, Art Central, Britney Spears, English Premier League’s Asia Trophy, HK Formula e-Prix, Sónar Hong Kong, Taste of Hong Kong, and the Volvo Ocean Race (coming in 2018).

PRIMARY TICKETING In a country that openly embraces technology with the highest penetration of mobile phones per capita globally (2.4 per person), it’s a wonder there is not an abundance of modern digital ticketing solutions to choose from. HK Ticketing, Cityline and Urbtix are the main players in the market. “The problem is a lack of consumer choice and regulations that haven’t caught up with the technology,” says Pelago co-founder Bob Bunger.

“Many of the city’s largest venues have long-standing exclusive arrangements with the large, old-school, physical ticketers like HK Ticketing, Cityline and Urbtix, misleading promoters into thinking

Ticketflap sold tickets for Sónar Hong Kong 2017, where Gilles Peterson was one of the stars

52 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

they do not have a choice in ticketing partners and offerings. Only now they do,” says Pete Gordon, COO of Ticketflap. Indeed, there has been welcome news for promoters and fans over the last year with venues such as the Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong Fringe Club, MacPherson Stadium, Southorn Stadium, and most critically the AsiaWorld-Expo (one of the city’s largest), beginning to bring on-board additional ticketing providers. However, many of the larger venues still refuse to give promoters any choice either via contractual means (such as Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Centre, The Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts, and The Star Hall [KITEC]), or via logistical and financial constraints (such as Government-owned venues controlled by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.)

Ticketflap and Eventbrite remain the largest and most successful of the modern digital ticketing service providers locally, with the number of options available to organisers continuing to grow, with e-Tickets.hk and Hotdog Tix joining existing specialist providers in town such as Pelago, Art-Mate, and Asia Music Fest.

SECONDARY TICKETING Secondary ticketing has limited traction in HK, though Viagogo and StubHub’s Google ad spend remains significant.

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES Digital ticketing continues to gain popularity with the tech-savvy population but remains hampered by many of the larger venues using ticketing companies that only provide physical ticket options.

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES Ticketflap’s annual event organisers survey cites a positive outlook for the music industry in particular, with 70% of DJ event organisers surveyed expecting to put on more events in 2017 than in 2016, followed by 58% for live music, 54% for festival organisers, 45% for sports, and 32% for arts and theatre.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS High-profile local cases involving unlicensed venues and international artists performing without the correct visas have further threatened the stability, growth and development of Hong Kong’s live scene, especially at the underground and smaller capacity level. On the other end of the scale, the festival landscape is proliferating, with new brands, especially in the EDM space. New events such as Creamfields and Dragonland join Road to Ultra, and all compete in an increasingly crowded market, with further entrants in this genre/format expected.

TAXES AND CHARGES Hong Kong has no government sales tax on tickets. Ticketing agents charge a per-ticket fee plus payment processing, typically ranging from HK$7-11 (€0.76-1.20). Charges for the delivery of physical tickets can be high because ticketers use registered postal services.

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

HUNGARY Language: Hungarian | Population (millions): 9.9 | Currency: Forint | GDP/Capita (US$): 27,500 | Internet Users (millions): 7.8 | Smartphone penetration: 51.3% | Population % aged 15–24: 11.0 | Population % aged 25–54: 41.9 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 58 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 67

Held on an island in the River Danube, Sziget Festival has been attracting fans from all over the world for quarter of a century

Relatively recent market entrant Tixa sells entirely online, with no paper tickets at all. “We sell 300,000 tickets a year and it’s all e-tickets,” says Tixa CEO Balázs Varga. “That is the way it is going.

The bigger ticket companies have ticket outlets, but I believe more in the UK model where you have venue box offices and that is probably enough.”

VALUE OF MARKET There are no published estimates of the value of the Hungarian live business.

SECONDARY TICKETING Homegrown e-ticket marketplace Tickething is working to develop the secondary market in Hungary, along with international player Ticketswap and, through its onboard resale service, Tixa.

“The main thing is to protect the customer and avoid negative experiences from resale,” says Varga.

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ungary is in a dark moment, with prime minister Viktor Orbán‘s unsavoury regime flexing its muscles against the media, migrants and minorities in general. Live music is still rumbling through, but this nation in the heart of Europe is rapidly losing international friends.

PRIMARY TICKETING Interticket, with its local Jegy.com brand, is the longstanding ticketing market-leader, working with most of Hungary’s larger venues and offering its service to others as a white-label option.

Ticketpro handles much of the large-scale international traffic through its association with Live Nation – upcoming shows on-sale include Gorillaz, Sting, Chris Rea, Depeche Mode and Metallica.

Ticketportal, strong in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, is also present in Hungary, as is Eventim and the four-year-old Tixa, which focuses on indie promoters and club shows. Budapest’s monster festival Sziget, meanwhile, operates its own ticketing and cashless payment systems.

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES Most operators maintain physical retail networks of various kinds, but the trend, in Hungary, as everywhere else, is inevitably towards the Internet. “Online is getting stronger each year, but it depends on the genre,” says Ticketportal Hungary managing director Zoltán Antal. “There are still events with over 80% box office sales, as well as others with over 90% online sales.”

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES Budapest tends to be a marginally less popular touring destination than Prague, and both compete with Kraków when the central European dates are being thrashed out. Nonetheless, the market has its share of incoming artists, and has certain notable domestic strengths.

“The club scene is getting stronger, in terms of live music and sales and in terms of DJs,” says Varga. “But Budapest is lacking medium-sized venues. We don’t really have anything above 1,500 – the next level is a 10,000-capacity arena.”

Top-selling Hungarian artists include Halott Pénz, Wellhello and Punnany Massif for a younger audience and Quimby, Kowalsky meg a Vega and Tankcsapda for older concert-goers. Tibor Bödőcs is the best-selling domestic comedian, selling out medium-sized venues every week across the country.

Given that up to half a million young Hungarian workers live elsewhere in Europe, some Hungarian bands also target shows in cities such as London, Munich, and Vienna.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS A blitz of fence-building on the Serbian and Croatian borders has stifled the flow of migrants into Hungary, putting the country at odds with others in the EU, and Orbán makes no bones about his desire to consolidate a nationalist, illiberal, anti-multicultural state.

Such conditions don’t usually augur well for live music, though judging by this autumn’s roll call of foreign visitors, Hungary remains well on the map.

TAXES AND CHARGES At 27%, Hungary has the highest standard rate of VAT in the whole of Europe, though better deals are available to promoters under the right circumstances. As a result of diligent lobbying, open-air festivals over a certain size – naturally including Sziget, which drew a record 496,000 visitors in 2016 – pay at a rate of 18%.

Promoters below a certain turnover can also claim exemption.

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

INDIA Languages: Hindi, English | Population (millions): 1,266.9 | Currency: Rupee | GDP/Capita (US$): 6,700 | Internet Users (millions): 325.4 Smartphone penetration: 22.4% | Population % aged 15–24: 18.0 | Population % aged 25–54: 40.9 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 92 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 145

Other players of note in the Indian market are Ticketgenie and Kyazoonga, the latter of which has an international presence thanks to its work in cricket.

It would be surprising if further consolidation in the Indian primary ticketing sector does not happen within the next 12 months.

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES India is overwhelmingly mobile-driven. Tickets for events are almost always bought online, with most going via mobile apps and mobile sites.

VALUE OF MARKET KPMG India and FICCI’s Indian Media and Entertainment Industry Report 2017 puts the market for live entertainment at between INR55bn and INR65bn (€740m-€880m), though concerts represent only a slice of that, and the report acknowledges that the industry is too fragmented to be entirely confident of the numbers.

But revenues are certainly rising. Average ticket prices for live events ranged between INR4,000 and INR8,000 (€54-€108) in 2016 – nearly 33% higher than the typical price range of INR3,000 and INR6,000 (€40-€80) in 2015 [source: KPMG/FICCI].

AGP World used BookMyShow and Insider.in to shift inventory for Blame it on Bollywood – The Musical

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ndia is a developing live market of staggering promise, and it is coming to life. Young Indians are demanding music and other forms of cultural events, and commercial live entertainment events (including concerts, festivals, sports tournaments and awards shows) doubled in 2016. Live event revenues rose by 20-25% in that period [source: KPMG India/FICCI].

PRIMARY TICKETING BookMyShow has dominated the online market for movie and live event tickets in recent years, with around a 70% market share overall. The Mumbai-based company has lately embarked on a strategy to grow its younger audience with a move into social content, a music download service – powered by credits earned when users buy cinema tickets – and an increased emphasis on live events.

India is too promising a market not to attract some outside investment, and it has been coming from the east. In June, Chinese operator Alibaba Pictures bought a majority stake in Chennai-based TicketNew. Shortly after, Indian electronic payment and e-commerce company Paytm – in which Alibaba Group owns a majority stake – picked up a minority holding in OML Entertainment’s curated ticketing platform Insider.in, signaling a concerted challenge to market leader BookMyShow, which is itself majority owned by private equity firm, Stripes Group.

54 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

SECONDARY TICKETING With live music in India in its early days and very few shows selling out, secondary ticketing is not yet an issue.

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES Festivals such as OML/Insomniac’s Electric Daisy Carnival in Noida, ID&T/Voila’s Sensation in Hyderabad, Sunburn in Pune, and Wizcraft’s Global Citizen in Mumbai are among a rash of prominent musical events, and the vast regional market is tentatively opening up too.

Electronic music, both international and domestic, has spearheaded the rise of the festival, and Bollywood playback singers draw large audiences. Hindi and English comedy, and food are also growth key areas.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS Demonetisation – the Indian government’s sudden cancellation in November 2016 of all 500 and 1,000 rupee notes – was intended to clamp down on the shadow economy and stifle terrorist funding. But prolonged physical cash shortages, while having little bearing on mainly electronic ticket sales, drove down events’ food and beverage income and hastened the ongoing shift into cashless payment systems.

TAXES AND CHARGES Taxes on entertainment events vary wildly depending on the state, though a proposed nationwide goods and service tax (GST) promises to standardise tariffs. An additional service tax, levied in recent years, stands at 15%. Ticketing companies charge promoters between 4% and 8% of the ticket price, with a 2% charge to the consumer.

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INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

IRELAND Languages: English, Gaelic | Population (millions): 5.0 | Currency: Euro | GDP/Capita (US$): 69,400 | Internet Users (millions): 3.9 Smartphone penetration: 68.9% | Population % aged 15–24: 11.8 | Population % aged 25–54: 43.5 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 158 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 205

MCD promoted U2’s homecoming gig at Croke Park, with Ticketmaster processing the sold-out show

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he live market is booming in Ireland after a recession that effectively lasted from 2008 to almost the middle of the following decade. Comedy is doing a roaring trade, and so is local and international music, with festivals thriving and Ed Sheeran recently selling out nine Irish outdoor dates for 2018.

PRIMARY TICKETING In a country where Live Nation is strong, Ticketmaster inevitably thrives, and so it is in Ireland, where leading promoter MCD shares a boss with Live Nation UK chairman Denis Desmond.

Ireland’s largest independent ticketing company is Tickets.ie, which is particularly strong in sport, and issues 2.7m tickets a year for clients that include the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association), Connacht Rugby, and Dublin’s Abbey Theatre. The company recently raised finance to launch a dynamic pricing platform called SeatFair, which it says it will trial later in 2017.

Ticketsolve is another operator in the primary market, specialising in the performing arts and non-commercial sports sectors. Another company, Tixserve, a mobile white-label ticketing platform launched in January 2017, placing security as a key selling point, claiming to be able to prevent harvesting of tickets by bots.

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES Online (desktop, mobile and app) accounts for the larger part of sales in Ireland, though Ticketmaster Ireland managing director Keith English says the country still has an outlet culture, with many customers paying for physical tickets in cash on the day they’re made available, particularly for big shows.

“We just launched mobile tickets a few weeks ago, which are proving extremely popular, but presently the majority of people typically opt for print-at-home when available,” says English. “We expect to see exponential growth on mobile tickets as people opt to go digital.”

VALUE OF MARKET The Irish economy, north and south, makes €1.7bn a year from live entertainment, given that every €1 spent on actual tickets

56 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

generates a further €6.06 in additional spending [source: Fáilte Ireland/IMRO]. A total of 3.7m people attended live entertainment events across Ireland between March 2015 and March 2016, and a further 280,000 came from overseas.

SECONDARY TICKETING Ireland is particularly engaged in the secondary ticketing debate, with a series of MPs tabling proposed legislation, and 86% of punters supporting a government ban on resale above cost price [source: Fine Gael/Ireland Thinks].

The industry is split, with Seatwave owner Ticketmaster arguing vehemently for the secondary business and claiming that fewer than 1% of the tickets it sells through primary channels are resold.

Tickets.ie has stated that it takes issue with Ticketmaster’s power in the market, but regards secondary ticketing as “not detrimental.”

Peter Aiken of leading independent promoter Aiken Promotions, which is promoting the Sheeran shows, has said that he “would like to see the resale of tickets by third parties criminalised.”

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES As a rule, every major tour that comes to the UK mainland will also visit either Dublin or Belfast, and often both, but Ireland also has its own strong circuit of well-loved local acts that, in common with homegrown comedy performers, can pack arenas.

“EDM is really hot in the market at present, with EDM acts dominating the summer festivals,” says English. “We sell a huge number of tickets for local and national acts, but Dublin and Belfast remain the major destinations for international artists.”

CULTURAL ANALYSIS The prevalence of outlet sales varies greatly by genre.

EDM fans in particular are said to account for a disproportionate number of cash sales.

TAXES AND CHARGES The service charge on tickets is typically 12.5%, which includes any taxes and is capped at €6.85.

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

ISRAEL Languages: Hebrew, Arabic | Population (millions): 8.2 | Currency: Shekel | GDP/Capita (US$): 34,800 | Internet Users (millions): 6.4 Smartphone penetration: 74% | Population % aged 15–24: 15.5 | Population % aged 25–54: 37.2 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 34 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 38

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srael had its busiest year for concerts in 2016, though in this small pocket of the Middle East with its finite audiences, not every show sold. All the same, Tel Aviv is a city of entertainment, the live music centre of the region, and as in so many other markets, Ticketmaster and CTS Eventim are both on the case – the latter as the incumbent, the former as a newly launched upstart.

PRIMARY TICKETING Eventim brought modern ticketing technology to Israel when it launched there in 2011, and this year, Ticketmaster has brought modern ticketing competition. In February, Live Nation acquired local promoter Bluestone Entertainment (founded by Guy Oseary, manager of Madonna and U2), whose shows in Israel have included Bon Jovi, Backstreet Boys, Enrique Iglesias, Major Lazer and One Republic. Its Tmisrael.co.il website was still in beta six months on, but it is doing business – Guns N’ Roses, Tomorrowland, The Chainsmokers and local acts Ethnix and Muki are all on sale for summer 2017. But Eventim remains the one to beat. Also in evidence are various box offices and local operators.

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES In terms of ticket sales, mobile and online are the most common channels, followed by call-centre and box-office sales, with print-at-home the most widely used ticket type.

VALUE OF MARKET The live music market in Israel was worth ILS119m (€28m) in 2015, and is projected by PwC to grow to ILS134m (€31m) by 2020.

Relative to recorded music, live music contributes 90% of music industry revenues in the Middle East and North Africa (source: Mideastmedia.org).

SECONDARY TICKETING Ticket scalping has been illegal in Israel since 2002, though

the law applies only to ‘unlicensed persons’ and hasn’t prevented Viagogo from becoming the first of the leading secondary ticketing exchanges to launch an Israeli presence.

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES “When it comes to music trends, the Israeli market is very similar to Europe and the US,” says Ticketmaster Israel MD Amir Kish.

“We have a great fondness for more heritage acts such as Pearl Jam, U2, Guns N’ Roses, Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen. Rock music is very popular, as is EDM – just this year we have Armin van Buuren, Dimitri Vegas, deadmau5, Tomorrowland, and many more.”

Hebrew music is also enjoying a strong moment, particularly in its traditionally based Mizrahi pop and hip-hop scenes.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS Israel is constantly under threat of a cultural boycott due to its government’s stance on Palestine. High-profile supporters of the Palestinian BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement include Roger Waters, Elvis Costello, Brian Eno, and the Manic Street Preachers – although plenty of artists continue to come, including, this summer, a hitherto unapologetic Radiohead. Local promoters maintain their liberal credentials and urge acts to visit and make up their own minds.

Israel last year announced plans to introduce a dress code for performers at some live events following a ‘disrespectful’ performance by singer Hanna Goor at the Hagaugust festival in Ashdod. Goor, a former contestant on Israeli singing contest Kokhav Nolad, was asked to leave the stage after the Ministry of Culture and Sport, which funded the festival, ruled that her attire – a bikini top, open shirt and shorts – did not “respect the general public that attended the show.”

TAXES AND CHARGES VAT in Israel is 17% and there is a 5 shekel (€1.25) handling fee added to tickets purchased online.

Shuki Weiss uses CTS Eventim to handle ticketing for its Fazamorgana Festival at King Solomon’s Mines

INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017 • 57

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

ITALY Language: Italian | Population (millions): 62.0 | Currency: Euro | GDP/Capita (US$): 36,300 | Internet Users (millions): 40.6 Smartphone penetration: 65.8% | Population % aged 15–24: 9.7 | Population % aged 25–54: 42.5 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 721 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 832

PRIMARY TICKETING CTS Eventim’s TicketOne is the market leader in both entertainment and sport, and had a record year for music in 2016, with ticket sales rising by 10%. It operates a network of 2,000 physical outlets and sells tickets for 16 of the 20 teams in football’s Serie A, as well as F1, MotoGP and sporting events such as ATP 1000 Rome and 2018 World Championship Figure Skating. The company sold 5m tickets in the first half of 2017, with a turnover of €28m.

For years, TicketOne has been the exclusive online partner of Live Nation. That deal expires in 2017 and has been replaced with an ongoing agreement that leaves room for the apparently inevitable arrival of an Italian Ticketmaster operation. Ticketmaster has registered with the Italian Chamber of Commerce, with a launch rumoured for November 2017.

Also active in Italy are Best Union’s VivaTicket and BookingShow, which has 1,000 ticket centres located in record stores, bookstores, travel agencies and clubs.

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES Paper tickets still hold sway in Italy. Traditionally, many tickets have been sold through bars, newsagents and banks, though the physical network is now more diverse, and print-at-home, mobile and e-tickets are growing fast, especially for sports and theatre events, according to TicketOne deputy managing director Andrea Grancini.

There remains a pretty substantial walk-up for many shows, though booking has increased in popularity. “Over 50% of the total tickets issued in Italy are sold through pre-sale networks, which include online and mobile, call centres and outlets,” says Grancini.

VALUE OF MARKET Collection society SIAE reports that there were 18,837 musica leggera – which translates to ‘light music’ but is effectively pop and rock – shows in Italy in 2016, generating €347.9m in ticket sales and other revenues, though audiences fell by 1.35% on the previous year, and ticket spend by 1.68%.

SECONDARY TICKETING Lawmakers in Italy have lately moved against secondary ticketing, after an investigation by a satirical TV show into ticketing for a Coldplay show at the San Siro in Milan last year found evidence that Live Nation Italy had sold thousands of tickets directly on Viagogo at greatly inflated prices.

The impact of a rash of investigations has been broad. In April, TicketOne was handed a €1m penalty following an anti-trust investigation, while Seatwave, Viagogo, Ticketbis and Mywayticket shared a further €700,000 in fines.

Promoters Live Nation, Vivo, and Di & Gi are now in the

58 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

Barley Arts uses Ticketone and Vivaticket for its shows, including KISS at Bologna’s Unipol Arena in May 2017

© Henry Ruggeri

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taly was hit hard by the 2008 financial crisis and even now is slowly recovering, but it is a hearty market with heavy domestic tourers and plenty of large-scale international visitors. Its live business, however, has recently been tainted by a secondary ticketing scandal that has touched many of the leading players.

crosshairs of Milan’s public prosecutor, which is investigating a complex pattern of alleged fraud going back to 2011, including apparent secret agreements to hold back tickets and channel them through Viagogo.

Artists including local megastar Vasco Rossi have split from Live Nation and TicketOne in the wake of the scandal. After Rossi moved over to VivaTicket, TicketOne published an affectionate letter on Facebook, asking him to reconsider. Separately, promoter Claudio Trotta, of Barley Arts, has been a vociferous campaigner against resale and even created a conference to discuss how to bring a halt to the secondary market in Italy.

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES The leading genres are pop and rock, and Italian and international acts are equally potent crowd-pullers. DJ sets, meanwhile, have increased in popularity over the last few years.

The most notable difference between domestic and international artists is in the touring pattern, according to Grancini.

“The biggest Italian artists usually play more than 50 dates per tour in arenas, stadiums or during summer festivals,” he says.

“International artists generally sell-out more concerts, but play fewer dates – sometimes just one.”

CULTURAL ANALYSIS The cultural spending power of young people is of sufficient concern that the Italian government last year launched an initiative to give €500 in cultural vouchers to people celebrating their 18th birthday, in an effort to encourage young people to visit more museums, movies and concerts, and to buy more books.

TAXES AND CHARGES Average taxes on tickets are between 20% and 30%, depending on the type of event.

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

JAPAN Language: Japanese | Population (millions): 126.7 | Currency: Yen | GDP/Capita (US$): 38,900 | Internet Users (millions): 118.5 Smartphone penetration: 50.1% | Population % aged 15–24: 9.7 | Population % aged 25–54: 37.7 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 1,926 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 2,019

2

016 saw Japan’s live entertainment market experience a small drop in overall revenue for the first time in ten years, despite a small increase in the number of events and attendees. The distribution of the live entertainment market remains broadly consistent with previous years, dominated by the Kanto area around Tokyo and Yokohama (35% of all events), and the Kansai area around Osaka (23% of events).

Recently, Pia Corporation, which operates Ticket Pia, announced plans to construct its own 10,000-capacity arena in Yokohama, perhaps signalling a new strategy among the major ticketers, who often bemoan the country’s shortage of venues.

PRIMARY TICKETING Japan’s main ticketing agencies operate networks of ticket vending machines out of the nation’s widespread networks of convenience stores, using thermal paper till receipts that are often swapped for actual tickets on entry to a venue. These physical vending hubs operate in tandem with the agencies’ online platforms.

The three main companies are Ticket Pia, e+, and Lawson HMV Entertainment. The oldest of these, Pia, reasserted its leading market position in 2016 by adding the Family Mart convenience store chain to its existing deals with 7-Eleven and Circle K/Sunkus.

Challenging the three main players in recent years have been startups like the e-ticket-based Peatix, which combines a more open platform for organisers with social media elements to facilitate communication between organisers and audience.

SECONDARY TICKETING The secondary market currently stands at ¥50bn (€39m) and recent years have seen growing concern at the rise of online scalping. In 2016, a committee of promoters, producers and artists formed a campaign against the reselling of tickets at vastly inflated prices via sites like Ticket Camp. Fears over reselling have also driven the adoption by ticketing agencies of non-transferable e-tickets.

The popularity of “flea market” mobile apps, particularly among young users, has also established a presence in the resale market.

The Merukari app, for example, grew from 30 million users in June 2016 to over 75m in June 2017.

In May 2017, Ticket Pia’s parent company Pia Corporation established Tiketore, the country’s first face-value ticket exchange.

VALUE OF MARKET Despite rapid growth in the live entertainment market since the mid-2000s, 2016 saw growth stall, with a drop from just under ¥320bn (€2.5bn) in 2015 down to ¥310bn (€2.4bn). Nevertheless, the figure remains three times that of 2007, and the number of events and overall audience continued to grow, albeit at a smaller rate than in recent years.

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES Live entertainment in Japan is strongly dominated by domestic acts, with overseas acts in a long-term trend of decline,

The parent company of Pia is planning to construct a 10,000-cap arena in Yokohama

in both market share and attendances. The leading source of overseas artists remains South Korea thanks to the continuing popularity of K-Pop. In both domestic and overseas events, rock and pop music accounts for by far the biggest audience.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS 2016 saw a shift in audience mobilisation away from stadiums and arenas and towards mid-sized halls, smaller “live houses” and outdoor events. That trend may be due to a long-term trend of pop-culture fandom coalescing around a shrinking number of chart-topping idol acts such as AKB48 and Arashi.

However, some of the shift may also be down to venues such as the Saitama Super Arena and Yokohama Arena being closed for refurbishment for long periods during 2016. The closure of key venues for refurbishment will continue as the 2020 Tokyo Olympics draw closer.

Small, locally promoted events in venues with a capacity of 200 or under rarely employ ticket agencies, tending to sell tickets on the door or via direct reservations.

TAXES AND CHARGES Convenience store ticket machines include a selling commission of ¥216 (€1.91), a system fee of ¥210 (€1.85) and a ticketing fee of ¥105 (€0.90) per ticket including VAT (total ¥525/€4.64). A typical breakdown of administration fees includes an agency commission of 8%, plus a paper cost of ¥10.5 (€0.09) per ticket. The e-ticket-based Peatix platform typically charges ¥99 (€0.75) plus 4.9% of the ticket price.

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INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

KAZAKHSTAN Languages: Kazakh, Russian | Population (millions): 18.4 | Currency: Tenge | GDP/Capita (US$): 25,700 | Internet Users (millions): 13.2 Smartphone penetration: 39.2 | Population % aged 15–24: 14.7 | Population % aged 25–54: 42.5

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azakhstan, characterised by a sufficiently large scale and distances between major cities of more than 1000 km, is quite a tough country for the organisers of performances by international artists. Its significant distance from Europe and America means increased logistics costs, and the high sensitivity of the local population to prices prevents it from performing well enough to recover the ticket price. Thus, most major events take place thanks to subsidies from the state and often are not of a commercial nature.

At the same time, Kazakhstan is quite an attractive market for artists from nearby countries such as Russia and Ukraine – tours often cover several cities in Kazakhstan with subsequent visits to the countries of central Asia.

Given that the country’s population doesn’t exceed 18 million, there is an unequal distribution of residents across the regions of Kazakhstan. Cities with an interest in hosting events by touring artists are limited to: the capital, Astana; Almaty, the largest city; and Karaganda, which is located between Astana and Almaty, and forms a peculiar transit route for artists. Unlike Almaty and Astana, however, the population of Karaganda has a much lower purchasing power.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS The Kazakhstan live market differs with its range of comparatively small-scale events, and the number of players in the market. Often, event organisers will also act as promoters, integrating the two roles.

There are no more than ten major players working with foreign artists, most of whom also operate in the territory of the nearest neighbouring country (eg Russia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Eastern Europe), and national stars, as a rule, organise their own tours without using the services of the major players.

In Astana and Almaty, over the past few years, venues have been increasingly organising their own concerts in order to promote their venues and facilities, and generally use a table reservation system instead of selling tickets.

Most of the theatres in Kazastan belong to the state and have their own proprietary ticket distribution systems, or will sometimes use state-compliant ticket operators. A similar situation has developed around sporting events, and although there are a few commercial sports events, boxing in particular, on the whole, interest in these events remains at a low level.

PRIMARY TICKETING The Kazakhstan ticket market consists of only five main players, most of whom try to combine online and offline business models. At the same time, the largest player on the market – Ticketon.kz – is the undisputed leader of e-ticketing, with a share of more than 75% of the total. Given that for music events, an average of more than 60% of tickets are sold online, this is an impressive percentage. In addition, the company successfully employs agencies to assist with sales, using the largest Internet portals, as well as autonomous companies for the sale of tickets.

Ticketon.kz is also the largest developer of ticketing software

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The 30,000-capacity Astana Arena is helping to put the capital city on the tour map

for cultural and sports organisations on the market (including cinemas, theatres and sporting facilities), which allows them to conduct business with most public and private facilities throughout Kazakhstan.

Other ticket agencies include: Kassir.kz, Koncertyastana.kz, Biletiastana.kz and Zakazbiletov.kz. These companies generally operate in their home regions (Almaty or Astana) using offline kiosks or delivery, and do not have a strong Internet presence.

Given that one Russian city can sell more tickets than those sold in the whole of Kazakhstan, there is no interest from foreign ticketing players.

SECONDARY TICKETING Since concerts are hardly ever sold out, there is no real secondary market activity. There may occasionally be a case for re-sales in the event of an important football match or a concert for an artist of exceptional interest, but these are rare. Secondary sales will usually occur via social networks, or at the venue. The latest initiatives are often pursued by law enforcement agencies.

VALUE OF MARKET The National Statistics Agency of Kazakhstan puts the country’s market worth at around KZT56,630 (€144m) as of 2016.

About 50% of which relates to concerts from local and foreign performers, with the remainder as follows: cinemas tickets – 22%, theatre – 13%, and sporting events – 9% (large-scale sporting events are rare).

TAXES AND CHARGES A distinctive feature of the ticket market in Kazakhstan is the absence of service fees for customers purchasing tickets for events. The historically established business model of interaction between event organisers and ticket agencies involves the sale of tickets at a nominal cost.

The ticket agent’s fee is usually included in the ticket price and is rarely more than 8-10%. Transaction costs for customers purchasing tickets online are also included in the price of the ticket and do not fall on the shoulders of buyers.

VAT in Kazakhstan is 12% of the value of the goods, but does not apply to entertainment.

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

LUXEMBOURG Languages: Luxembourgish, French, German | Population (millions): 0.6 | Currency: Euro | GDP/Capita (US$): 102,000 | Internet Users (millions): 0.6 | Population % aged 15–24: 12.3 | Population % aged 25–54: 44.3

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lthough its estimated population increased year-on-year by 3.5%, Luxembourg is one of Europe’s smallest states, covering just over 2,500 square kilometres and with only 582,000 residents. But Luxembourg arguably attracts more A-list acts than any other country in the world, per capita, thanks to neighbouring nations.

There are two significant destinations in Luxembourg – the 1,200-capacity den Atelier club and the 6,500-capacity Rockhal arena, and sister venue Rockhal Box with a 1,100-capacity.

PRIMARY TICKETING Companies, such as Ticketmaster and CTS Eventim, do not operate within Luxembourg’s borders, but play a significant role in the health of the entertainment scene, as audiences also come from Belgium, France and the Netherlands.

Both Rockhal and den Atelier operate their own ticket platforms – Rockhal’s powered by Etix, which allows Rockhal staff to scan 100% of event tickets, no matter which provider sold that ticket to the fan or which barcode system is used.

SECONDARY TICKETING Luxembourg has no secondary-ticketing sites of its own.

Rockhal’s Thomas Roscheck says resale has not been an issue, historically, but with the venue enjoying a record year in 2016, more fans have bought tickets via secondary platforms. “When those big acts visit, the issues involved with secondary are brought into focus – especially problems with Viagogo,” says Roscheck. “The secondary market also brings with it credit-card fraud, so we’ve had to adapt our security measures accordingly.”

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES Rockhal sells around 60% of its tickets through the in-house Etix white-label platform. The remaining 40% is made up of sales through the likes of Ticketmaster and Eventim in neighbouring countries.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS Luxembourg’s population is among the most prosperous in the world and residents are big consumers of live entertainment.

However, Roscheck stresses that the health of the local industry depends heavily on the patronage of fans from other countries.

“Companies such as Ticketmaster and Eventim are hugely important to us because of the volume of tickets we rely on them to sell for our shows,” says Roscheck.

TAXES AND CHARGES The local tax on tickets is 3%, while service charges vary.

Rockhal charges a 10% fee up to a maximum of €5 per ticket, including credit-card costs and all other fees.

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

MEXICO Language: Spanish | Population (millions): 123.2 | Currency: Peso | GDP/Capita (US$): 18,900 | Internet Users (millions): 69.9 Smartphone penetration: 40.7% | Population % aged 15–24: 17.7 | Population % aged 25–54: 40.7 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 201 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 242

Ocesa uses Ticketmaster to give fans access to its giant Electric Daisy Carnival event

announced an investigation into possible monopolistic practices in the live entertainment business. More than a year on, no conclusions have been published, though CIE has always denied that anything is amiss in its market.

“I think it is a complex sector, where there is enormous competition, and which has to be understood very deeply to capture the mechanics of what we do,” said Alejandro Soberón Kuri, president and director general of CIE. DISTRIBUTION OF SALES In common with other Latin American markets, Mexico has made a slow climb out of the old days, with physical box-office sales gradually giving ground – though far from completely – to online channels.

Nowadays, Mexico has higher smartphone adoption than the US, with 80% compared to its neighbour’s 78% [source: ScientiaMobile], pointing to the likelihood of increasingly rapid digitisation of the ticketing market, particularly among younger audiences.

VALUE OF MARKET The Mexican live market isn’t measured, though estimates have put concert revenues at around $250m (€221m) in recent years.

V

ast, bustling and often misunderstood, Mexico is a quiet giant – the second-biggest economy in Latin America after Brazil, with two of the world’s ten biggest promoters, a population of 110m, and a rabid appetite for live music.

PRIMARY TICKETING For years, Mexico’s live entertainment business has been a monopoly market, ruled by Latin American entertainment giant CIE, which operates promoter Ocesa and, since 1991, the Ticketmaster Mexico joint venture, in which it has a 70% majority stake. In the past decade or so, Monterrey-based rival Zignia Live and its ticketing division Superboletos have moved into a sturdy second place.

Also on the Mexican ticketing map are secondary crossover merchant StubHub, the smaller eticket, and the white-label provider Boletia.

CIE/Ocesa was the third-biggest promoter in the world last year, with sales of 3.7m tickets (up from 3.2m in 2015), though Zignia Live, the world’s seventh biggest, had also grown with 1.9m (up from 1.6m). Each of the two operates its own power bloc, promoting and selling shows and often hosting them. Zignia Live operates Mexico City Arena and Arena Monterrey, the country’s two busiest arenas, while CIE has its own stable, include Palacio de los Deportes and the Foro Sol stadium in Mexico City.

Mexico’s Federal Competition Commission (COFECE) last May

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SECONDARY TICKETING Secondary ticketing is an unresolved problem in Mexico, but one that promoters are attempting to combat.

One of secondary’s leading lights, eBay-owned StubHub, recently signed a deal to become the online primary ticketer for Monterrey’s Hellow Festival, to follow a similar Rock In Rio deal.

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES Mexico has a wealth of national and regional music stars, and though cities such as Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey draw international tours, Mexico doesn’t depend on overseas acts to fill its halls. Vast festivals such as Mexico City’s Vive Latino, showcase the breadth and scale of so-called rock en español Norteño; banda music, heavy with tubas, accordions and tales of drug cartels, dominates the Mexican charts; whilst blockbuster pop stars include Thalía, Gloria Trevi, Paulina Rubio and Luis Miguel.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS Mexico is a notably high adopter of streaming services – along with Brazil, it is among Spotify’s top four markets worldwide.

Smartphones have been far more widely adopted than CD players ever were, creating a curious situation in which parts of Latin America, including Mexico, represent a growth market for recorded music. Consequently, touring bands have increasing amounts of data-driven insight on which to base their live strategies.

TAXES AND CHARGES VAT stands at 16% on tickets in Mexico, while booking fees can range between 12% and highs of 20%.

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

THE NETHERLANDS Language: Dutch | Population (millions): 17.0 | Currency: Euro | GDP/Capita (US$): 50,800 | Internet Users (millions): 15.8 Smartphone penetration: 68.8% | Population % aged 15–24: 12.1 | Population % aged 25–54: 39.8 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 629 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 670

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he Netherlands boasts a great variety of ticket agents, including many that specialise at local level. Then again, the country also boasts a huge number of events, especially festivals, of which there are around 800, attracting some 23m visitors each year.

PRIMARY TICKETING The main players in the Netherlands are Ticketmaster, Ticketpoint, Paylogic and Eventim. Then there’s Ticketmatic, which caused quite a few ripples in the recent past and, in particular, shook up the theatre space. An accurate ranking is difficult to come by, but Ticketmaster seems to be the clear leader.

“Most events deal with exclusive ticket partners, which means that there are a few very strong players with a solid market share.

But it seems that music/festival events are generally open to trying new platforms (white-label brands, Facebook’s ticketing platform, etc), so the market is active,” Feld Entertainment’s Steven Armstrong explains.

Spotify plays an active role in the Dutch market, as it works directly with promoters to suggest acts to book, based on the data it mines from subscribers.

SECONDARY TICKETING Unsurprisingly with such a vibrant market, resale plays a significant role in the Dutch ticketing landscape with companies such as Viagogo, StubHub and Seatwave active alongside home grown operations like Onlineticketshop, Topticketshop and Tickettribune. Another young pretender, Ticketswap.nl, has proven popular with its cap of 20% mark up on tickets.

VALUE OF MARKET The downside of having so many events is that it becomes hard to track the market’s overall worth. But, according to Ticketpoint’s Marcel Van Loon, the ticket market for festivals was worth €187m in 2016.

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES Online is the number-one sales channel in the Netherlands, with most people ordering from their mobile devices or via social media. Call centres and box office are the second and third most-used options. Print-at-home is still the dominant format, but mobile is catching up fast.

Aukina Buining, MD of Ticketmaster Netherlands, says that “aside from EDM, which remains one of the most-loved genres in the Netherlands, rock and pop are also very popular when it comes to ticket sales. Around 90% of tickets sold for concerts are for international acts, with the remainder for national artists.”

Netherlands’ electronic festivals are rapidly approaching a revenue “ceiling.” The total number of unique visitors will not increase in 2017, he says, and revenue from ticket sales “will remain at the same level as in 2016.”

Many Dutch people pay via iDeal, a real-time online banking app. “Almost no one pays by credit card,” says Marijcke Voorsluijs of TOT, which offers technical solutions for cultural organisations.

According to Armstrong, the Dutch are quite price sensitive, “so special offers (priority customers, early-bird, family packs), are very important.”

The sheer number of events taking place in the country is also the reason that most professionals working in the business don’t consider the market to be oversaturated with sellers. Eventbrite entered the market at the beginning of the year through acquiring Amsterdam-based Ticketscript, indicating that there is still room.

TAXES AND CHARGES The Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has given online ticket agencies trading in the Netherlands until 1 October to comply with the legal requirement of including all additional fees in the displayed ticket prices.

This intervention came after ACM received a number of complaints regarding the cost of concert, theatre and festival tickets. “They particularly reported that they were confronted with additional costs during the booking process that were not indicated beforehand but that they still had to pay, such as administrative costs, service fees or print costs,” says ACM’s consumer protection spokeswoman Saskia Bierling.

The VAT applied to tickets in the Netherlands is 6%.

The service charge on tickets varies between 3% and 10%, depending on the company.

De Vrienden van Amstel LIVE! used Eventbrite for its 2017 event at the Ahoy Arena

CULTURAL ANALYSIS The Netherlands is an EDM stronghold. Of the above figured festival ticket revenue, it is estimated that around €140m was generated by the country’s countless EDM events. However, Denis Doeland, who runs consulting agency DDMCA, predicts that the

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INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

NEW ZEALAND Languages: English, Maori | Population (millions): 4.5 | Currency: Dollar | GDP/Capita (US$): 37,100 | Internet Users (millions): 3.9 | Smartphone penetration: 70% | Population % aged 15–24: 13.6 | Population % aged 25–54: 40.1 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 122 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 136

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ew Zealand’s live entertainment market has much in common with its neighbour and cousin Australia. Its community of recording artists are spreading their wings, with the likes of Lorde, Gin Wigmore, Ladyhawke, Broods, and Kimbra enjoying global success. The wider music industry appears to be on an upswing, thanks to the impact of streaming music services, investment in the live infrastructure, and timing.

PRIMARY TICKETING Australia and New Zealand have a lot more in common than a shared language. The two titans of the Australian ticketing business, Ticketmaster and Ticketek, are also the big players in NZ. The heads of the major music companies in Australia also have duties in New Zealand and many of the major tours to Australia also route into New Zealand.

Other primary ticketing platforms include iTicket, Dash Tickets, Ticketure, Ticket Direct and Ticketbooth, while event discovery site Eventfinda plays a big role in the decision process for consumers.

Auckland’s 12,000-capacity Spark Arena (formerly Vector Arena) is a regular destination on major touring itineraries Down Under, while Christchurch, Wellington and Dunedin have hosted concerts by international stars in recent years. The latter city will host three Ed Sheeran dates next March and April at the Forsyth Barr Stadium, a feat unmatched by any touring act (his Divide World Tour will also pull into Auckland’s Mount Smart Stadium for three dates).

“New Zealand has always been very strong for acts like Bruce Springsteen, the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac and Adele, but the market can be hit and miss,” notes Mushroom Group chairman Michael Gudinski. “It’s about timing and ticket price.”

VALUE OF MARKET Live music saw “significant growth” in 2015, generating revenue from ticket sales of NZ$158m (€100m), well up from around NZ$105m (€66m) in 2014. The sum was based on public performance royalties collected by APRA AMCOS and published in a report entitled Economic Contribution of the New Zealand Music Industry, commissioned by Recorded Music New Zealand and compiled by PWC. Homegrown music was found to have generated NZ$44m (€27m) during that period. Live music enjoyed a “strong touring year,” the report boasts, and the sector now represents approximately 30% of the total music market. “The first thing you have to recognise is how small the market is compared to everywhere else,” notes Harley Evans, the New Zealand-born, Australia-based managing director and owner of Moshtix and The Ticket Group. “Auckland is a decent-sized city, but the cost and logistics of adding an Auckland or Wellington gig to a tour are much greater than doing another show in Australia.” The other factor that seems to be holding New Zealand back is a lack of quality options for arena-sized and outdoor events. “The audience and appetite exists in NZ to make touring acts work,” he notes, “but that little piece of water between here and Australia creates a perception that it’s ‘risky.’ Look at the recent sales performances

64 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

Ticketek handled things when Maroon 5 visited the Horncastle Arena in Christchurch

of Adele, Ed Sheeran and Paul McCartney though – at a per capita level, the NZ sales have been phenomenal.”

SECONDARY TICKETING Bots are a real problem on both sides of the Tasman, explains Maria O’Connor, Ticketmaster’s managing director for Australia and New Zealand. “Ticketmaster invests millions in technology and human moderation to identify and block bot activity. But we need stronger up-to-date legislation and greater enforcement to prevent people using bots to the detriment of fans.”

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES Most concertgoers buy tickets via desktop, notes O’Connor, though mobile devices are increasingly popular for transactions and now represent around a third of all sales for the ticketing giant.

Independent ticketing firms say online accounts for some 90% of sales, a figure that would be split 50/50 online against mobile.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS Like Australia, venues in New Zealand are typically tied to an exclusive ticketing supplier. Ticketek works with a raft of venues including Horncastle Arena and AMI Stadium while Ticketmaster handles ticketing for Mount Smart Stadium, Forsyth Barr Stadium and Spark Arena (in 2015, Live Nation Entertainment and Australia’s MHC Investments bought EVENZ, which controls the Auckland waterfront where the arena is situated).

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

NORWAY Languages: Norwegian, Sami | Population (millions): 5.3 | Currency: Krone | GDP/Capita (US$): 69,300 | Internet Users (millions): 5.0 Smartphone penetration: 86.8% | Population % aged 15–24: 12.8 | Population % aged 25–54: 41.0 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 352 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 375

© Jonathan Vivaas Kise

Homegrown act Sigrid proved a popular draw at Slottsfjell festival 2017

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orway was recently crowned the happiest country in the world, rocketing up from fourth place. That said, the country has had a slightly rocky few years by its own standards, the value of the Norwegian Krone having fallen, along with oil prices.

Nonetheless, and thanks to its accumulated oil wealth, Norway remains a highly prosperous place, with some of the highest average salaries – and prices – in all of Europe.

PRIMARY TICKETING Ticketmaster’s Billettservice is the dominant player, and has been for more than 40 years. Danish group Venuepoint, owned by CTS Eventim and Egmont, has been tooling up across the Nordic region, and offers the keenest competition. Formerly operating as Billetportalen, it now uses the Eventim.no brand. Bergen-based TicketCo, meanwhile, is a ticketing start-up with both domestic and international ambitions.

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES Online and mobile are the dominant sales channels in Norway, though most methods remain available. “Around one third of tickets are sold via the box office, a small percentage by phone, and the rest online,” says Kristian Seljeset, managing director of Ticketmaster Norway and Sweden. “We process a lot of season tickets in Norway for sports including football and ice hockey.

Outside of these, the majority of tickets are print-at-home, and a small percentage of paper tickets.”

Print-at-home is the most popular delivery method for Venuepoint too, but Venuepoint CEO Christoffer Feilberg notes that more and more people are becoming accustomed to using mobile tickets on their smartphones.

However, in spite of Norway’s tech-friendly society, relatively traditional online models generally prevail. “Social media is great when it comes to marketing shows, but people still tend to go online and buy tickets the way they are used to,” says Feilberg.

VALUE OF MARKET The value of the Norwegian music industry grew to a

four-year high in 2015, with the live sector accounting for more than half of that sum. Live revenue – comprising ticket sales in Norway and artist fees from concerts by Norwegian acts elsewhere – was NOK1.93bn (€206m), up by 4% on the previous year, according to the Norwegian Arts Council (Kulturrådet). The figure was the highest since the council began compiling its Music in Numbers reports in 2012. Export income from concerts, however, fell 6% to NOK114m (€12.2m), with a “fall in artist fees” blamed.

SECONDARY TICKETING Because the resale of tickets above face value is technically illegal in Norway, secondary ticketing is mostly consumer-toconsumer, with sales usually conducted via social media.

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES Feilberg estimates that the international/domestic split in Norway is around 50/50. International artists are most often seen in Oslo, though second city Bergen also has a very solid live scene and has demonstrated superstar pulling power, having drawn the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Metallica, Coldplay, Muse, Kanye West and Rihanna in the past decade.

“Norwegian fans love rock and pop music, and classical music is also very popular,” says Seljeset. The country also famously leads the world in black metal.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS With its population of 5.2m, Norway punches about its weight in a variety of ways, including the number of festivals it supports. Øyafestivalen in Oslo’s Tøyenparken is the biggest, but other notable events in the capital include Live Nation’s Findings, Norwegian Wood, OverOslo, Island, and Picnic in the Park, while Bergenfest is the largest outdoor music event in western Norway.

TAXES AND CHARGES Music, classical and comedy tickets are all exempt from VAT in Norway, though tickets for sporting events are subject to a tax of 10%.

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INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

POLAND Language: Polish | Population (millions): 38.5 | Currency: Złoty/Euro | GDP/Capita (US$): 27,700 | Internet Users (millions): 26.2 Smartphone penetration: 63.4% | Population % aged 15–24: 11.1 | Population % aged 25–54: 43.5 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 180 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 177

© Anna Bursztynowicz

Go Ahead used a variety of ticketing platforms for its May 2017 Seafret gig at Proxima in Warsaw

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s IQ Magazine’s recent market report on Poland revealed, the country’s live music sector is thriving. 2016 was a good year for concerts, on the back of a very decent 2015, and with 2017 looking even better.

PRIMARY TICKETING Poland is one of the few European markets not (yet) dominated by Eventim, but it’s still at least on a par with eBilet which claims a market share of around 38-40%. Ticketmaster is present too and is rapidly growing as it migrates the Live Nation and Ticketpro inventory to its platform. Ticketportal is the number four entity in the Polish market.

There are no official sources tracking ticket sales, but eBilet’s Marcin Matuszewski was kind enough to offer an estimate: “If we take into consideration ticketing companies, theatre box offices, and sports club sales, I would estimate it to be PLN600m [€141m] to PLN700m [€164m].”

SECONDARY TICKETING Private resellers usually use C2C services such as Allegro.pl, Gumtree.pl and Olx.pl, where all kinds of goods are being offered.

Social media is also popular for this purpose. Viagogo, Stubhub and AleBilet are present but primarily used by professional resellers whose market share is difficult to estimate.

According to Matuszewski: “Secondary ticketing with higher

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than nominal prices is forbidden by law in Poland.” He adds that, in general, the size of the secondary market is not big. “We do not feel its importance,” he says.

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES Matuszewski reports that 70-90% of tickets are sold online, and Eventim Poland MD Joanna Bączkowska concurs. “80% of all tickets are sold online, most of the sales come directly from desktop devices. Mobile sales are developing fine and show high growth rates,” she says.

Ticketmaster Poland MD Katarzyna Suska confirms that “mobile ticketing continues to grow,” and adds that for certain genres, up to 50% of tickets are still sold at outlets, from person to person. In eBilet’s case, 40-45% of traffic already comes from mobile devices.

Print-at-home and paper tickets are still favoured in Poland, “with mobile becoming more popular but still relatively small compared to other methods,” according to Suska. At Eventim, FanTickets with their bespoke tour and band prints, are the best sellers.

Local acts enjoy great popularity in Poland. “The majority of sales in terms of number of tickets come from Polish acts,” says Matuszewski.

Bączkowska adds that: “About 65% of all tickets are sold for shows of local artists. However, they usually do not appear in large venues, but rather do a big club tour once a year. Contrary to that, international acts sell more expensive tickets, and focus on performing in Poland’s biggest venues.”

CULTURAL ANALYSIS According to Suska, “Live entertainment has not traditionally been as popular in Poland as it is in the rest of Europe. However, this is changing, and we are seeing increasing interest from Polish fans to get out there and go to concerts and events – which is wonderful to see. In terms of ticket sales, rock and pop are the best-loved music genres.”

Volleyball is the most popular sport after football, and MMA is huge in the country. “KSW, the MMA federation, organises the most popular fighting events. They created the MMA market in Poland, which is much larger than boxing. They organised one of the largest MMA tournaments in the world, with over 50,000 tickets sold,” Matuszewski explains.

According to Bączkowska, “Poland is sometimes overlooked when big stars are planning tours, but this is less of a problem than five years ago. We owe a lot to the UEFA EURO 2012, which triggered some necessary infrastructure investments. Today, the market benefits from the state-of-the art stadiums built for the purpose of this event, as promoters love to use them.”

TAXES AND CHARGES There’s VAT of 8% and a merchant VAT of 23% applied to tickets sold in Poland. Additional charges are in place for payment processing (around 2%) and delivery (PLN8-20 [€1.90-4.70]). The fee that promoters have to pay the Polish authors’ rights association (ZAIKS) is up to 8% of a show’s gross.

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

PORTUGAL Language: Portuguese | Population (millions): 10.8 | Currency: Euro | GDP/Capita (US$): 28,500 | Internet Users (millions): 7.4 | Smartphone penetration: 32.1% | Population % aged 15–24: 11.4 | Population % aged 25–54: 41.9 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 113 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 109

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ortugal’s economy seems to be on the up after years of austerity, and its live space is currently vibrant. “Festivals are a huge deal, each year new events are born,” says Jorge Vinha da Silva, managing director of Blueticket, one of the country’s main ticket agencies. The latest addition to the festival line-up is BPM Festival, which will premiere its Portuguese edition 14–17 September.

PRIMARY TICKETING The other two main ticketing agents in Portugal are Ticketline and Bilheteira Online (BOL). All three of the principal agencies are observing a fast-growing online ticketing market, even if traditional retail outlets like Fnac, Worten, El Corte Inglés, and post offices are still popular points of sale in Portugal.

Alongside the venues’ box offices, they account for more than half of the tickets sold in the country.

ROMANIA Language: Romanian | Population (millions): 21.6 | Currency: Leu | GDP/Capita (US$): 22,300 | Internet Users (millions): 12.1 | Smartphone penetration: 56% | Population % aged 15–24: 10.8 | Population % aged 25–54: 46.0

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he Romanian live entertainment scene has been in the news for all the wrong reasons in the recent past, with two nightclub fires calling the country’s professionalism into question. However, the very first Eastern European Music Conference (EEMC), which took place 27-30 July in the city of Sibiu, was aimed at addressing the majority of the country’s problems, ticketing not being one of them.

PRIMARY TICKETING Eventim takes the lead in Romania, and together with iabilet.ro and Bilete.ro, controls about two thirds of the market.

Myticket.ro also claims to be back on track after two rough years.

Petru Lungu, CEO and co-founder of Livetickets.ro, counted a total of 23 ticket sellers currently operating in the country.

While this may seem like a lot, he thinks that most existing offerings, with the exception of the market leaders, are “not suited for the current needs of their customers.” Which is also why he believes that there is still space in the market for LiveTickets.

SECONDARY TICKETING According to Lungu, there are no secondary ticket vendors active in the market. The few shows that do sell-out are resold on

Blueticket reports that it sells 45% of its tickets online, while the country average should lie at around 25-30%. Ticketline, for example, says it sells 48% of its tickets through outlet stores, 29% online and 23% through box offices.

SECONDARY TICKETING The secondary market is still outlawed in Portugal, although, operating across borders, the likes of Viagogo and Ticketbis are said to still make a profit there, even if the overall percentage is still dwarfed by the primary market.

“There are no official numbers and we are the only company with public account reports,” Da Silva explains. “According to our market studies, the total ticketing market is worth about €200m, including live entertainment, exhibitions and cinema.”

TAXES AND CHARGES Live entertainment tickets pay VAT of 13%, while sports and conferences have to hand over a sizeable 23% to the state. Ticket companies charge customers between 3% and 6% commission on each ticket, depending on the company. Da Silva believes that “the fees and overall margins are lower than in the rest of Europe.”

CULTURAL ANALYSIS According to Ticketline CEO Ana Ribeiro, “most events are treated like a live experience, offering pre-sales; exclusive products and tickets; meet and greets; and by creating a buzz around the event.”

ARTmania Festival uses Eventim Romania to sell tickets for its city centre gathering

social media. While rock and pop have traditionally been the most popular genres driving most of the ticket sales, the country has also developed a strong festival market in recent years, “turning over very high ticket sales.” Electric Castle (30,000 capacity), Untold Festival (70,000) and Revolution Festival (20,000), for example, have all launched within the past five years.

TAXES AND CHARGES Taxes on tickets range from 2% for opera, ballet and classical events, to 5% for any other ticketed event. Another 5% is added for companies that are eligible for a VAT number.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS Lungu reports that Romanians are “very reserved when adopting new technologies or new methods. We are trying to convince people that buying tickets with a credit card on their smartphone is the normal way to do things.” Hence, he set-up a company that only sells mobile tickets.

Lungu also says that the method of “using social media incentives to increase ticket sales is not used at all in Romania.”

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INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

RUSSIA Languages: Russian, Tatar | Population (millions): 142.3 | Currency: Ruble | GDP/Capita (US$): 26,500 | Internet Users (millions): 108.8 | Smartphone penetration: 56.4% Population % aged 15–24: 9.5 | Population % aged 25–54: 44.7 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues (US$millions): 490 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues (US$millions): 535

P

olitical disagreements ever since Russia annexed the Crimea have taken their toll on the live entertainment sector, and as tensions between the country and its Ukrainian neighbours continue, there has been a noticeable drop in the number of international acts performing in Russia – at least at public events, as billionaire patrons are still able to attract A-list artists.

For those acts that do still tour and play at festivals in the Russian Federation, St. Petersburg remains virtually the only city outside of Moscow that regularly hosts tours.

PRIMARY TICKETING International ticketing giants are not big in Russia, despite CTS Eventim being the official ticketing provider for the 2014 Winter Olympics held in Sochi. In 2018, Eventim could find itself with familiar competition, however, as Russia is set to host the FIFA World Cup – a competition that also attracts the interest of the secondary ticketing sector. Sources in Russia tell ITY that the market is stagnant, but many are counting on the World Cup to showcase the country as a place where individuals from other nations are welcomed and embraced by fans.

Generally, each ticket agency and concert hall, depending on its size, has its own proprietary ticketing platform, while the basis of the market is official operators selling tickets obtained from event organisers. The main primary players in Russia are Kassir, Eventimowned Parter, Muzbilet, Ponominalu, Ticketland, Concert, RedKassa and Yandex Tickets.

The developers of ticket booking software are a separate sector, as those players usually do not operate on the B2C market, rather they provide solutions allowing organisers to sell their own tickets. Such operations include Radario, Tickets Cloud, Intickets and Dilyaver. In addition, most ticket operators also provide organisers with ticket booking software.

Iron Maiden took their spectacular The Book of Souls World Tour to Moscow’s Olympic Stadium

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Some operators have agreements for exchanging ticketrelated information. For example, Ponominalu provides access to its database to Kassir and RedKassa. In turn, Ponominalu is connected to the databases of Intickets and Dilyaver.

SECONDARY TICKETING The ticket resale market is significantly developed in Moscow and accumulates an estimated €180m per year. The basis of this market is providing tickets to the Bolshoi Theatre and other key venues, as well as international sports events. Over 100 companies operate on the secondary market, but there are no apparent leaders. International services, such as Viagogo, Seatwave and StubHub are virtually non-existent, but that could well change in a World Cup year given the international reach of their marketing programmes.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS Russian ticket and event markets are highly fragmented.

More than 1,000 organisers operate on the concert market, generally concentrating on their home region or on Moscow and St. Petersburg. A level above the organisers are promoters, who buy national tours and sell event dates in individual cities to local organisers.

Venues rarely act as event organisers and usually earn money by leasing premises, selling tickets in the box office, running a bar, and hosting corporate events. Exceptions are Yotaspace Club (hosting 200 concerts per year with Ponominalu as general ticket operator) and Tele-Club.

The sports market is divided into club sports (clubs receive big donations and are rarely interested in selling tickets through operators); sports teams and federations (international and domestic tournaments); and commercial sports (primarily boxing and other fighting sports and where Ponominalu considers itself the leader due to its contract with major promoters).

Russia is predominantly a cash market, so ticketing kiosks are a vital part of the business. Agencies also employ couriers to deliver tickets and take cash or credit-card payment on delivery.

VALUE OF MARKET The annual live event tickets market in Russia is estimated at around €1billion, with Moscow and St. Petersburg dominating the live music side of things. One of the biggest ticketers in the country, Kassir, states that its revenues for 2016 were similar to those of the year before. Interestingly, PwC in its latest Global Entertainment and Media Outlook report, states that the Russian live music business was worth $490m (€407m) – a significant downgrade on the $769m (€640m) it estimated the concert market in Russia would be worth in its forecast last year. But the financial gurus remain optimistic about Russia’s recovery, predicting that the market will grow by more than 8% by the year 2021.

TAXES AND CHARGES Service fees typically run from 5-10%.

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

SINGAPORE Languages: Mandarin, English, Malay | Population (millions): 5.8 | Currency: Dollar | GDP/Capita (US$): 87,100 | Internet Users (millions): 4.7 | Smartphone penetration: 71.7% | Population % aged 15–24: 17.0 | Population % aged 25–54: 50.5 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 53 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 61

The Ultra music festival has quickly established itself as a mainstay in the Singaporean calendar since making its debut in 2015

T

he Singaporean economy has been sluggish of late, though ticket sales have stayed pretty strong thanks to a steady flow of western and eastern touring productions, an affluent 5.5m-strong population, and regional music tourism.

PRIMARY TICKETING SISTIC has driven the ticketing market in Singapore for more than 25 years and remains the largest operator in the city state, as well as offering its STiX technology across the region.

Other players include Singapore Sports Hub’s in-house Sports Hub Tix, which covers the Singapore Indoor Stadium, National Stadium, OCBC Aquatic Centre and OCBC Arena; and Comcast Spectacor-owned APACTix, which, like SISTIC, caters to the broader music and culture sector.

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES The key operators maintain physical box offices and phone lines, but most sales take place online, and increasingly via mobile. Singapore leads Southeast Asia in mobile usage, with a higher than 140% mobile broadband penetration, compared to 60% across the region.

“We continue to see the majority of ticket sales from our online channels, especially our website,” says SISTIC CEO Kenneth Tan. “There has been an increase in mobile ticket sales, both through our website and particularly through the SISTIC mobile app.”

VALUE OF MARKET There were 3,323 ticketed music, theatre and dance events in 2015, according to the most recent data from Singapore’s Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth – slightly up from 3,256 the preceding year. Almost 1.6million tickets were sold for

performing arts events in 2015 – a slight increase on 2014. Gross takings increased from S$100m (€63.5m) in 2014, to S$121.8m (€77.3m) in 2015.

SECONDARY TICKETING Scalping is illegal in Singapore and tickets found on the black market can be voided, though online resellers do operate via sites such as mobile e-market platform Carousell and Viagogo. There were arrests for fraudulent ticket resale, after Coldplay’s two National Stadium shows in March sold-out rapidly after going on sale.

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES Singapore draws its entertainment from the east and the west and remains a major entertainment hub for Southeast Asia.

“This year, we’ve seen an overall increased interest in the arts and entertainment scene in Singapore, which is constantly evolving,” says Tan. “Specifically, we have noticed [high demand for] concerts and musicals, such as Guns N’ Roses and Les Miserables.”

CULTURAL ANALYSIS Coldplay, Justin Bieber and The xx are among the major western names to appear in Singapore this year – the first two at the 55,000-cap National Stadium, the latter at the 12,000-cap Singapore Indoor Stadium.

TAXES AND CHARGES Ticketers collect a booking fee of S$1 to S$4, depending on the price of the ticket. Concert promoters are subsidised by the Singaporean government because of music’s value to tourism, in the form of cash sponsorships, free or discounted venue rental or tax breaks to offset ticket prices.

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INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

SLOVAKIA Language: Slovak | Population (millions): 5.4 | Currency: Euro | GDP/Capita (US$): 31,200 | Internet Users (millions): 4.6 Smartphone penetration: 54.3% | Population % aged 15–24: 11.3 | Population % aged 25–54: 45.1

W

ith a population of a little more than 5.4 million, Slovakia has a culture that embraces live events, with an estimated 2.2m ticket sales per year throughout the nation. The country’s close proximity to large cities in neighbouring nations means that Slovak fans don’t think twice about crossing borders to see their favourite performers.

MIA was one of the headliners at Pohoda Festival 2017, where Ticketportal is the main ticketing retailer

PRIMARY TICKETING There are no official statistics collated in Slovakia, but based on the number of events and the total number of tickets sold during the last year, Ticketportal SK remains the market leader, with about 75% of total volume, while Predpredaj.sk has a market share of approximately 15%, and relative newcomer Eventim sees about 8%. Other local domestic primary outlets account for the remaining 2%.

© Martina Mlčuchová

SECONDARY TICKETING The secondary market is not a major issue in Slovakia. “There are no official companies or agencies involved in reselling tickets,” states Ticketportal marketing manager Livía Franková. However, she suggests that online platforms such as Bazos.sk and Bazar.sk might offer tickets for sale. As for touts outside venues, she notes, “This is monitored and guarded by the Slovak police as it is an illegal activity.”

VALUE OF MARKET According to Ticketportal data, the average ticket price in Slovakia is €18 and 2.2m sales take place annually, giving the Slovenian market a gross value of €39.6m.

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES Around half (49%) of all tickets in Slovakia are purchased online, and printed at home. However, physical sales outlets are still, marginally, the most popular purchase points for consumers, with 51% of sales taking place through retail or partner sales points.

Ticketportal has a nationwide network of sales outlets, as well as partnerships with OMV Slovakia petrol stations and branches of the Slovak post office. Competitors also rely on a network of kiosks and the retail outlets of telecom partners.

Eventim has taken advantage of the continued popularity for paper tickets by introducing FanTicket’s souvenir stub solution.

“Our customers really love them, says Michaela Rakšányová, Eventim Slovakia’s operations manager. However, despite paper tickets still having the edge, he observes that, “online – both PC and smartphones – have the highest growth rates.”

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES Ticketportal’s Franková tells ITY that in 2016 music was the most popular genre of entertainment, with 40.5% of total sales accounted generated by concerts, and a further 7.6% for festivals.

In comparison, theatre enjoyed a 20.3% share of sales, while tickets for sporting events 23.3% of the local market.

In terms of popularity, domestic talent still attracts 59% of sales

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in the live music sector, with pop and rock unsurprisingly leading the way with about 70% of total sales. “Slovaks are fond of rock music and love bands like AC/DC, Depeche Mode. Their shows usually sell very quickly,” says Rakšányová.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS Slovak music fans buy tickets for both domestic shows and cross-border shows, as Vienna and Budapest are within easy reach. “Many people opt to travel abroad to see the artists they love – especially when they do not perform in Bratislava,” says Rakšányová.

Franková agrees, reporting that Prague also attracts wellheeled consumers. “Booking managers of internationally acclaimed shows have no preference for Slovakia, but rather for Czech-Prague, Austria-Vienna or Poland. That is the reason people here travel to see and enjoy the biggest events,” she adds.

The Slovak ticketing market is far from oversaturated, but the local population’s Slavic mentality, based on the need for trust, means that any newcomers are eyed with suspicion and may find it difficult to find loyal customers.

TAXES AND CHARGES Slovak VAT is 20%, which is included in the ticket price, so the customer is shown the total cost inclusive of VAT.

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

SOUTH AFRICA Languages: Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, English, Sotho | Population (millions): 54.3 | Currency: Rand | GDP/Capita (US$): 13,500 | Internet Users (millions): 27.9 | Smartphone penetration: 36.2% | Population % aged 15–24: 18.1 | Population % aged 25–54: 41.4 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 88 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 116

S

outh Africa is the biggest live music market in Africa, and the main destination for international acts, but times have been tough lately, largely thanks to exchange rate troubles. The trip to the bottom of the world’s second-biggest continent is a long one for touring artists, and the sooner an African circuit coalesces, the better for South Africa, but the infrastructure is undoubtedly in place in the main cities and there are plenty of companies prepared to sell tickets.

PRIMARY TICKETING Computicket, the ticketing division of supermarket giant Shoprite Holdings, is the leading primary operator in South Africa, with a mass-market position and online and physical outlets. It works with the market-leading promoter, the Live Nation-owned Big Concerts, which brings the vast majority of international talent to South Africa and currently has Bryan Adams and Lady Antebellum on sale.

But there is plenty of competition of all kinds, including platforms such as sports-focused TicketPro, iTickets and Webtickets. With the latter being particularly progressive, offering integrated Facebook sales for ticket-sellers and a secure ticket resale service, as well as a real-world network in Pick n Pay supermarkets, where buyers can collect tickets they have bought online.

Amongst South Africa’s reasonably numerous festivals, the most common approach is to choose one of a handful of online services, often of a white-label, mobile-first variety. NuTickets’ clients include Steyn Entertainment’s Rocking The Daisies in Darling, Rage Festival in Kwa-Zulu Natal, and the Cape Town Electronic Music Festival. Quicket works with New Year’s Eve rave Rezonance outside Cape Town, Vortex Trance Adventures in Riviersonderend, and the Burning Man offshoot AfrikaBurn, and also operates the latter event’s Secure Ticket Exchange Programme (STEP). OppiKoppi Festival promoter Hilltop Live has developed a mobile ticketing solution – Plankton – that it uses for the event.

TicketPony, another authorised AfrikaBurn reseller, is a Cape Town-based online ticket exchange that lets buyers sell tickets on for no more than 110% of their original price.

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES Ticketing operators in South Africa are all moving, at varying speeds, towards mobile apps, with mobile both the purchase channel and the delivery method of choice for younger gig-goers.

However, the gap between the consumption habits of the young and the old is distinct, and credit-card adoption among South Africans is not absolute, so retail points, paper tickets and cash sales remain an essential part of the market for now.

VALUE OF MARKET Consumer spending on live music in South Africa amounted to ZAR1bn (€66m) in 2014, the year live revenues overtook those for recorded music, and the last year PwC researched the market. This gap will widen over the next five years, with live music revenue expected to grow at 7.9%, reaching ZAR1.5bn (€99m) in 2019.

Using Computicket, Big Concerts promoted dates

by The Lumineers in Cape Town and Johannesburg in April 2017

SECONDARY TICKETING Viagogo is present in South Africa and officially offers international ticketing to the Ultra South Africa music festival, though demand for most show tickets doesn’t often reach the critical levels on which secondary ticketing depends.

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES When international fees are as unfavourable as they are now, South Africa needs to make its own music, and it does, with stars including rappers such as Cassper Nyovest and AKA, and Afrikaans acts like Spoegwolf, Karen Zoid, Jo Black and Die Antwoord.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS It is recognised that if the South African live market is to thrive, it needs help and investment from state and corporate sponsors. The rand fell steadily against the dollar from around 2012, but it bottomed out at the beginning of 2016 and didn’t recover in a hurry, resulting in a bad year in which international fees were steeper than ever for South African promoters.

Hilltop Live, promoter of the famous OppiKoppi festival in Limpopo, had a tough time, making a heavy loss on the festival.

However, a collaboration with Belgium’s Pukkelpop and others has resulted in the creation of Matchbox Live, a new live entertainment venture aimed at boosting the South African live market. The October edition of OppiKoppi will be the first event under the Matchbox Live banner, followed by two more festivals, Drumbeat and Lekkerland.

In another development aimed at improving the local business, the Department of Arts and Culture’s South African Cultural Observatory (SACO) has developed a South African Festival Economic Impact Calculator (SAFEIC) to allow events to calculate their broader value.

TAXES AND CHARGES 14% VAT is applied to ticket sales, and fees can vary from 6% up to as much as 15%, depending on the provider.

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INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

SPAIN Language: Spanish | Population (millions): 48.6 | Currency: Euro | GDP/Capita (US$): 36,500 | Internet Users (millions): 37.9 Smartphone penetration: 66.8% | Population % aged 15–24: 9.6 | Population % aged 25–54: 45.2 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 336 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 332

T

he Spanish live music market has had a spring in its step over the past 12 months and for good reason. Not only has the country’s economy continued its recovery, growing 3.2% in 2016 and with 2.6% growth forecast for 2017, but the live sector has also experienced its third consecutive year of growth.

Most importantly, the Spanish government finally agreed to lower the 21% VAT on “cultural goods” to a more reasonable 10%, something the country’s live sector has been calling for since the new rate was introduced in 2012.

PRIMARY TICKETING Ticketmaster remains the largest primary ticket company in Spain, followed by Entradas.com (bought by Eventim in 2014) and Ticketea, which was founded in 2010. Twickets is a relative newcomer to the Spanish market.

Another player of note in the B2B sector is Onebox, which claims to be the first global ticket distribution system for the entertainment industry. Its technology connects live events and activities with sales channels from a centralised all-in-one ticketing platform, helping to drive sales, profits and audiences.

SECONDARY TICKETING The leading secondary ticket companies in Spain are Seatwave, TengoEntradas, Viagogo and Entradas 365. Ticketbis, a local start-up that launched in 2010 and that has grown to be one of the largest ticket resale operators in Spain, was bought by eBay in May 2015 and has been rolled into the StubHub platform.

Promoter Doctor Music is openly campaigning against secondary ticketing in Spain and support for the call to introduce anti-touting legislation appears to be growing. At the same time, a number of promoters are being investigated for allegedly misrepresenting sales figures, thus prompting fans to look for tickets on resale sites.

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES Some 51.4% of all live music tickets in Spain are bought from the venue box office, according to according to local live promoter association APM (La Asociación de Promotores Musicales). Onlne sales are on the up (they represented 35.9% in 2015, up from 23.3% in 2011), and ticket sales by telephone remain at around 1%. The department store chain El Corte Inglés remains a popular purchasing point for fans, “Most tickets in our market are sold online, although our mobile traffic is continuing to increase,” says Ticketmaster Spain MD Eugeni Calsamiglia. “Print-at-home tickets are the most used but traditional paper tickets are still important.”

VALUE OF MARKET The Spanish live music market grew 14.7% in 2016 to €223.2m, its third successive year of growth following increases of 12.1% in 2015 and 9.8% in 2014, according to APM. This was largely thanks to the return of huge international touring acts like Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay and Red Hot Chili Peppers, who sold

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Mercury Wheels@Live Nation used Ticketmaster for its April sold-out show with Ed Sheeran at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona

160,000, 120,000, and 66,000 tickets in 2016, respectively.

On more sober reflection, many in the business noted that 10% was still among the highest rates of taxation in Europe, compared to 5.5% in France, 7% in Germany and 6% in the Netherlands.

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES While international touring acts helped to boost the Spanish live music market in 2016, domestic artists also performed well, with Spanish rock and pop acts accounting for 47.8% of all ticket sales.

Spanish pop singer Manuel Carrasco sold 282,000 tickets over 48 concerts in 2016 to lead the domestic market, closely followed

by Madrid-born singer Malú, rock/rumba duo Estopa, rock singer Loquillo, and singer-songwriter Alejandro Sanz.

Pop/rock, flamenco and dance remain the dominant live music genres in Spain, although there is a notable market for genrespecific festivals, such as reggae event Rototom Sunsplash and hard-rock specialist Resurrection Fest.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS For years the Spanish live music business has been warning of the saturation of the country’s festival market. And for years these warnings have been ignored, with local authorities keen to attract tourism and boost their region’s prestige.

2016, however, saw many of these sombre warnings come to pass, with a reduction in the number of festivals, as well as a number of high-profile cancellations, including Territorios Sevilla, Marenostrum and Kolme Rock.

Despite this, established festivals like Primavera Sound, Sónar and FiB continue to prosper, while Mad Cool Festival attracted around 100,000 attendees to its first edition in Madrid in June 2016.

TAXES AND CHARGES March 2017 saw wild celebration among the Spanish live music industry, when the government confirmed the lowering of VAT to 10%. This was something the entire live music business had been fighting for since 2012, when the government hiked the rate of VAT from 8% to 21%.

Local collection society SGAE also takes 10% of concert revenues.

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

SWEDEN Language: Swedish | Population (millions): 9.9 | Currency: Krona | GDP/Capita (US$): 49,700 | Internet Users (millions): 8.9 Smartphone penetration: 72.2% | Population % aged 15–24: 11.6 | Population % aged 25–54: 39.4 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 466 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 565

S

weden has had a tricky year amid the continued rise of the far right, an alleged boom in religious extremism, gang violence, and allegations of sexual assault at this summer’s Bråvalla Festival. Sweden does, however, remain the Nordic capital of pop, with a muscular live market and a highly progressive ticketing business.

PRIMARY TICKETING Traditionally, venues appoint the ticketing agent in Sweden, although outdoor festival promoters control their own ticketing arrangements. The country has become a budding battleground for the major ticketing companies in the past couple of years.

In late 2015, AXS bought sport and entertainment company Transticket, while CTS Eventim beefed up its Swedish presence by taking a 50% stake in Venuepoint, owner of Biljettforum.

Ticketmaster, however, rules the roost having acquired historic market leader Ticnet in 2004.

Interestingly, the expansion into the Swedish market offered AXS its first opportunity to migrate its ticketing platform into a non-English language format.

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES Sweden is closer than any country in the world to becoming a cashless society, and tickets, too, have essentially migrated into the virtual world. These days, they are almost exclusively sold online and via mobile, with reports of 60% mobile sales from some ticketers. All tickets are e-tickets, and if you do have a physical item, you’ll probably have printed it at home. White-label ticketing company Tickster this year launched an electronic point-of-sale network in carefully chosen venues, restaurants and bars.

the world. From ABBA and Roxette, to Avicii, Robyn, Tove Lo, and pop craftsmen such as Max Martin and Shellback, as well as much rock, metal and Nordic hip-hop, Sweden can credibly turn its hand to most things. Accordingly, its live business does a brisk trade, and its domestic artists don’t toil in the shadow of international touring acts. “Pop and rock music are very popular in Sweden, and this is reflected in ticket sales,” says Ticketmaster Sweden managing director Kristian Seljeset. “We have around a 50/50 split in terms of sales between international and local Swedish acts.”

CULTURAL ANALYSIS Sweden is increasingly cashless, with barely half as many hard Swedish kronor in circulation as in 2010. Swish, an app-based mobile payment system that could count 5m users by 2016 – from a population of not quite 10m – has had a significant influence.

Tickster alone reports that it now sells 25% of its tickets through Swish, although the app only expanded to include online shopping in January.

TAXES AND CHARGES Concerts fall into Sweden’s lowest tax band at 6%. Ticketing agents’ service fees go up to about 8%, though they can be lower, and tend to be included in the advertised ticket price.

Live Nation and Ticketmaster enjoyed great success with Depeche Mode at Stockholm’s Friends Arena in May 2017

VALUE OF MARKET Concert revenue in Sweden continues to rise. In 2015, it stood at SEK4.8bn (€500m) or 53% of the music industry’s total revenue, up from SEK4.2bn (€450m) and 51% the year before. That 14% spike in concert revenue was the single largest increase in the ten years since Swedish music trade association Musiksverige began compiling figures in 2007. A shade over 10% of total live revenues are generated overseas.

© Nils Carmel

SECONDARY TICKETING Ticketmaster launched its Seatwave platform in Sweden in September 2016, with Viagogo already present. Ticket fraud is a particular source of concern for the primary ticketing business.

“Secondary ticketing is a problem in Sweden – there have been issues with bad tickets, fraud and overselling,” says Erik Lindholm, CEO of Tickster, which operates a strictly controlled, commissionfree resale service for fans. “By not charging any fee for our service there is no legitimate reason not to use it.”

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES Sweden can more than take care of itself in the pop and rock stakes, exporting more music per head than any other country in

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INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

SWITZERLAND Languages: German, French, Italian, Romansh | Population (millions): 8.2 | Currency: Franc | GDP/Capita (US$): 59,400 | Internet Users (millions): 7.1 | Smartphone penetration: 71.7% | Population % aged 15–24: 11.1 | Population % aged 25–54: 43.5 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 348 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 366

S

witzerland almost saw a mega-merger between Eventim/ Ringier’s Ticketcorner and Tamedia’s Starticket. However, since the former already controls around 60% of the Swiss market, the country’s anti-trust authority put a stop to the deal. For now. But Ticketmaster has announced its intention to make its Swiss bow through a pact with existing operator tixtec.

The reason that secondary ticketing agencies have been unable to properly set foot in the market has to do with the bad press that the practice has received, Transaction Consulting’s founder Marcus Garbe explains. Also, according to Starticket CCO Frank Schwegler, personalised tickets with a pre-registration process work quite well in the country.

PRIMARY TICKETING Whether Eventim or Starticket emerge as market leader depends on the type of event. Coming in at third place is Ticketino, followed by SecuTix, Swisscom/Reservix, and Ticketfrog.

Ticketmaster’s announcement that Switzerland will become its 30th territory thanks to a deal with ticketing software specialists tixtec did not exactly come as a surprise, with most people in the business expecting the company would follow in the footsteps of Live Nation, which now has an office in the country.

Ticketmaster International president Mark Yovich says, “Working with George Egloff and his [tixtec] team brings together our global experience with his invaluable understanding of the Swiss ticketing and live entertainment sector.”

With Starticket still looking for a buyer, perhaps the introduction of Ticketmaster to the market, under Egloff’s guidance, provides a ready-made solution.

VALUE OF MARKET There are no reliable numbers concerning the Swiss ticketing market. Some studies claim that 50 million tickets across all event genres are sold each year, with 20 million of those sold through traditional ticketing agencies. Estimates put the overall worth of the live entertainment market at around CHF400m (€358m), with concert and festival tickets generating a fee volume of around CHF55-60 (€49-54m).

SECONDARY TICKETING The secondary market is comparatively tiny, with a fee volume of around CHF2-3m (€1.8-2.7m). The only noteworthy player in the market is Viagogo. Despite numerous attempts, a Viagogo representative failed to respond to ITY’s request for information, and therefore exact figures are unavailable.

The Unique Moments Festival in Zurich has an exclusive arrangement with StarTicket

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DISTRIBUTION OF SALES Online is the most important ticket sales channel in Switzerland. Ticketcorner says it sells around 70% of its tickets via the Internet or mobile apps, and the rest via call centres or the 1,500 booking offices selling its repertoire across the country.

Starticket says 80% of all tickets are sold online with each ticket also being a mobile ticket.

Print-at-home and mobile tickets are the Swiss format of choice, whilst customised fan tickets that serve as souvenirs are proven bestsellers. Schwegler believes that cashless will massively gain in importance over the coming years, especially in terms of security.

Rock and pop remain the most popular musical genres in terms of ticket sales, followed by EDM and classical.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS Switzerland is home to multiple languages, which can affect ticket sales. International and German acts predominate in the German-speaking part of the country, whilst, unsurprisingly, the people of western Switzerland are more interested in Frenchspeaking acts. Overall though, international acts still dominate.

In the case of Starticket, the ratio is 80:20.

The fragmented market also means that tax and fee regulations aren’t consistent, although VAT itself is consistent throughout at 8%. There’s a reduced rate of 2.5% for events deemed culturally valuable, but, as is the case in many countries, concerts and festivals don’t fall into this category.

Another observation is, that while the number of shows, concerts and festivals has increased, the average number of seats sold has decreased, according to Ticketcorner CEO Stefan Epli.

Schwegler still sees room for innovative ticketing companies.

“The ticketing market is undergoing a profound technological change and is exhibiting an exceptionally high momentum. What’s more, big, multinational corporations are pushing into the business,” he says. Adding that security will play an increasing role when it comes to cashless systems, which is why Starticket paid close attention to getting the technology right.

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

TURKEY Languages: Turkish, Kurdish | Population (millions): 80.3 | Currency: Lira | GDP/Capita (US$): 21,100 | Internet Users (millions): 42.7 Smartphone penetration: 59% | Population % aged 15–24: 16.1 | Population % aged 25–54: 43.1 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 128 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 147

Biletix has a long-term deal to sell tickets for Promoters Alliance whose Dropout Festival 2017 featured a headline performance by Scorpions

remains a significant model in the Turkish business.

There is still room for more ticketing companies, Hobbs believes. “I would say that there needs to be at least one more strong seller to compete with Ticketmaster,” he says. “That’s not happened yet, and I don’t see it happening soon, if only because the music market is so down.”

SECONDARY TICKETING The secondary market still functions in the old-school way, ie: the main resellers are classic touts trying to make a quick buck outside the venue. Charmenko’s Aslıhan Erguvan reports that “there is no official secondary market” in Turkey.

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES According to Ticketmaster Turkey GM Kemal Erdine, “roughly 60% of all tickets are sold online. Otherwise, fans purchase tickets through box offices, our call centre, and via their mobile devices.

Around two thirds of tickets sold are paper tickets – but this year, in particular, we have seen a rapid increase in print-at-home and mobile tickets.”

2

016 was a bad year for the people of Turkey in general, and the live entertainment industry in particular. The country has been struggling to attract international artists, and promoters are still feeling the repercussions of the attack on Atatürk Airport in June 2016, and the following New Year’s Eve’s nightclub shooting.

Nick Hobbs, owner of Turkish talent-buying and promoting agency Charmenko, says “all the ticket sellers have serious problems because of the declining concert market, and to an extent the sports and entertainment markets in general.” What doesn’t help is the fact that the big sports clubs have taken control of their own ticketing or have appointed government-owned sellers to do so for them.

PRIMARY TICKETING Ticketmaster-owned Biletix has the biggest market share among the companies operating in Turkey, with the runners up including Biletinial.com, Biletino.com, Stubhub.com.tr, Tixbox.com. tr, Highfive.com.tr and Mobilet.com. Biletix claims it sells some 3.5m tickets a year for more than 13,000 events, generating around TRY283m (€68m). The company was one of the first to introduce lay-away plans, allowing fans to pay for tickets in installments. This

CULTURAL ANALYSIS Turkey’s capital Istanbul is quite the exception when it comes to cultural diversity. It is very international, in the sense that it has embraced a lot of western trends that one won’t find in the rest of the country, which is much more culturally conservative.

Like other European countries such as Poland or Germany, Turkey has its very own form of national pop music called Arabesque, which sells very well. Erdine says, “Turkey is a local-content country; around 85% of our sales are for local artists/ events, and the remainder for international acts.”

Boosting local talent even further is the fact that fewer international acts have been making the journey to Turkey out of fear of terrorism. What is encouraging is that Charmenko’s Sónar Istanbul, which premiered in March, boasted an international line-up of acts that included Moderat, DJ Koze and Honne – and sold 5,000 tickets. “If things remain quiet for the next few months,” says Hobbs, “then I expect bookings for bigger acts for next year to slowly pick up.”

Sónar’s line-up also proves the popularity of electronic music in Turkey. Whilst still a relative niche market, “electronic music festivals have become extremely popular in recent years.

There are many electronic music festivals held in Turkey, not only in Istanbul, but also in seaside cities,” Erguvan reports.

“People tend to pay for experience rather than the content,” she adds. “Thus, attending a festival, experiencing the atmosphere or sharing the experience with friends, are their main motivations.

People tend to buy tickets when they see their friends on Facebook attending an event.”

TAXES AND CHARGES VAT in Turkey is 18%, with an additional entertainment tax of 10%.

INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017 • 75

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Languages: Arabic, English, Persian, Hindu, Urdu | Population (millions): 5.9 | Currency: Dirham | GDP/Capita (US$): 67,700 | Internet Users (millions): 5.3 | Smartphone penetration: 80.6% | Population % aged 15–24: 13.5 | Population % aged 25–54: 61.3

T

icket prices are high in the United Arab Emirates, and the market for live music, almost all of it imported, is largely restricted to expats. Nonetheless, the live entertainment business is working hard to build a sustainable industry in the Emirates.

Grace and favour tickets – where large numbers of seats are reserved for the ruling families, government officials and their VIP guests – play a significant role at events in the UAE, meaning that the number of tickets sold are seldom the same as the number of admissions.

PRIMARY TICKETING The Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) operates the ticketing system in Dubai, the busiest entertainment and tourism market in the UAE, and concert ticketing agencies, hotels and airlines all use the same infrastructure.

Ticketing operators in Dubai include local event guide Platinum List, which claims the larger part of the market; bricksand-mortar retailer Virgin Megastore; as well as Ticketmaster and BookMyShow. In Abu Dhabi, where the state has been known to sponsor superstar shows, the ticketing business has no government involvement, though Flash, Abu Dhabi’s stateowned promoter, works exclusively with Ticketmaster. Other operators in the UAE include Ticket-line.ae.

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES “Our sales cycle is quite unique in that many customers purchase tickets in the last two weeks leading up to the event,” says Ticketmaster UAE managing director David Grisham.

Bebe Rexha is among the performers that have graced Dubai’s Autism Rocks Arena, promoted by 117 Live, which routes all fan traffic via their own website

76 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

“Print-at-home tickets are the most commonly used, with mobile tickets increasing. In terms of the distribution of sales, online sales continue to dominate, with call-centre and box-office sales making up the remainder.”

VALUE OF MARKET The live music market in the UAE is not measured.

SECONDARY TICKETING Scalping is illegal in the Emirates, though tickets can be found for resale through classified ads.

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES International acts account for the majority of sales, and family entertainment shows are broadening the market beyond expats.

“The most popular music genres are quite varied – including everything from pop and rock through to hip-hop and classical,” says Grisham.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS Dubai’s venue infrastructure has had a boost with the launch of the Dubai Opera and 117 Live’s 30,000-capacity temporary Autism Rocks Arena, with the promise of a permanent venue in 2018. Abu Dhabi has historically been better served, with its 40,000-cap du Arena and 8,000-cap du Forum on Yas Island.

TAXES AND CHARGES In Dubai there is a 10% ticket tax that applies to all tickets, though this is not the case in other Emirates. Ticketing commission and convenience fees range from anywhere between 5% and 15%.

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UNITED KINGDOM Language: English | Population (millions): 64.8 | Currency: Pound Sterling | GDP/Capita (US$): 42,500 | Internet Users (millions): 61.1 Smartphone penetration: 70.3% | Population % aged 15–24: 11.9% | Population % aged 25–54: 40.1% | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 2,070 | PwC estimated 2021 live revenues US$millions: 2,075

L

ive music had a record year in the UK in 2016, growing its reported attendances by a remarkable 12%. The festival scene gives no indication of declining, the UK touring scene is one of the world’s most vibrant, and it’s never been easier to buy a ticket – assuming you can afford one – from a throng of ticketing companies, all fighting for elbow room in a packed market.

The UK has challenges too, of course, and it is broadly tackling them. Secondary ticketing is a booming business, though patient lobbying from managers and other opposed parties has left the government increasingly inclined to intervene in the market.

Smaller venues are struggling, although a rearguard action from organisations such as UK Music and the Music Venue Trust helped ensure that 2016 was the first year in a decade that London’s grassroots venues didn’t decline in number.

Terrorism – along with (possibly) Brexit – is the problem that no one can fix. Ticket sales have anecdotally slowed since the Manchester bombing in May, although perhaps not as dramatically as they did in France in similar circumstances after the November 2015 attacks. But events such as Live Nation/SJM’s One Love Manchester and a cheerily political Glastonbury Festival indicate that most people hold live music to be at least a small part of the solution.

PRIMARY TICKETING The UK has an incredibly busy ticketing sector, in which most of the major global brands have a presence. Ticketmaster is the leading ticket agency, though its precise market share is not disclosed, and Vivendi’s See Tickets is reckoned to take second.

The latter has previously claimed around a 25% market share, though as Vivendi Ticketing CEO Rob Wilmshurst these days points out, defining terms in a market that contains primary, secondary, direct-to-fan and venue sales, is increasingly tricky.

Other operators include global names such as AXS and Eventim; diverse indies like Ticketline, Gigantic, Skiddle and Ticket Arena; and commercial players that have sprung from venue box offices, such as Echo Arena Liverpool’s TicketQuarter, NEC Group’s The Ticket Factory, and the Ambassador Theatre Group’s ATG Tickets. Typical of those regional players, The Ticket Factory started life as the NEC Box Office and celebrated its tenth anniversary in September 2017. In addition to serving NEC Group’s own venues, the company has invested heavily in leading edge technology, attracting other venues and promoters to use its services.

Amazon, meanwhile, threatens to eclipse all comers with its own vaunted ticketing service, while Eventbrite is also carving out a successful business in the UK thanks to its self service ticketing platform. And that’s not to mention the secondary operators, of which the UK has a full set, and digitally driven outfits of various kinds, including Dice, Twickets, Vibe and numerous others.

Such competition doesn’t faze Ticketline head of marketing James Lee. “New ideas to the industry have ensured that we move forward with technology innovation and promotional strategies, taking charge of new insightful and effective promotional tools, and has led to a constantly evolving culture within our industry,” he says, adding that Ticketline recently developed a self-ticketing system, Ticketlight, which

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allows complete end-to-end management and control of events.

“We offer personal service, added with bespoke ticketing solutions catered to the exact specifications for our clients for today and tomorrow. This includes targeted marketing, sales strategy and insight, delivering ticketing solutions that don’t just deliver, but enhance an event or venue’s sales,” continues Lee, who counts the likes of Bestival, Camp Bestival, Common People, Kendal Calling, Green Man, Victorious, Rewind Festival and promoters such as Kennedy Street and LCC Live among Ticketline’s clients.

As the biggest selling artist on the planet, Adele’s tour dates completely sold out around the world, including, of course, her hometown shows at Wembley Stadium

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES UK

Another established player is Ticket Zone, which has carved out a significant niche working to provide behind-the-scenes box office support services to a broad swathe of entertainment and sports clients, including live music, family shows, touring exhibitions, theatrical sectors, football clubs and sports associations. Managing director, Domingo Tjornelund, tells ITY that the company runs contact centre operations for numerous football clubs and venues, as well as handling white-labelled web sales, ticket distribution, tour management, background customer services/social media, and other ticket fulfilment services for tours and events. “We run on multiple software systems so we can sell tickets directly through individual client’s systems, as well as our own,” says Tjornelund. “In effect, we allow clients to cherry pick the services that they need from us, be that contact centre operations or the full service from sales to ticket delivery.”

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES As much as any other market in the world, the UK is a laboratory for the future of ticketing. At one level, the business

continues to operate roughly as it has for some years: the preferred sales channels are online and/or mobile; the typical ticket is usually a paper one, bought from a ticketing destination or the venue’s online box office and either posted out or printed at home.

But disruptors are all around. Companies such as Dice, with its mobile delivery platform and newly announced refund system, and fan-to-fan ticket reseller Twickets, with its direct artist deals, aren’t yet seizing huge market share, but they are certainly influencing customer expectations.

Meanwhile, if the predictable currents of the web are any indication, the market is inexorably drawing towards a very different set-up, in which open distribution puts tickets where consumers are already spending their time, handing social media and e-commerce platforms an entrée into the business.

A deal struck between Eventbrite and Facebook offers a possible vision of a frictionless future, allowing event organisers to sell tickets directly through the social network. Eventbrite UK & Ireland marketing director Marino Fresch says selling events in this way has already been demonstrated to double sales compared to

INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017 • 79

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES UK

AC/DC’s Brian Johnson joined Muse on stage as a surprise guest at Reading Festival 2017

non-Facebook events. Ticketmaster, AXS and Eventbrite, meanwhile, have all integrated with Spotify.

Social, along with ‘search’, is already the major driver of traffic to ticketing sites. And social particularly, in whatever form, is inevitably going to play an even greater, more transactional role in the near future of ticketing, as sellers attempt to cut through with targeting, timing and ease of purchase.

“There is a consistent drive towards convenience of purchasing,” says TicketQuarter head Henry Brown. “We operate in a saturated, competitive market, where we are all selling pretty much the same tickets at pretty much the same price. We win through convenience – trying to put it in the right place and make it as easy as possible to buy.”

In that spirit, Ticketmaster this year threw open its API to encourage third-party developers to build its ticket discovery, purchasing, and management services into their apps.

“We invest more time, money and resources than any other ticketing company into technology, meaning we do more than anyone to get the ticket directly into the hands of the fan at that first on-sale,” says Ticketmaster UK managing director Andrew Parsons.

Ticketmaster’s list of projects further includes paperless tickets, with entry secured through credit card and photo ID, and event alerts tailored by predictive intelligence software, powered by customer data.

VALUE OF MARKET 30.9m people attended live music events in the UK last year – a 12% increase on 2015 – and nearly £4bn (€4.5bn) was generated through music tourism [source: UK Music].

80 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

SECONDARY TICKETING The moral tide may have turned against the UK’s surging secondary market, which is reckoned to be worth £1bn (€1.1bn), amid reports of £25,000 (€28,000) Adele seats and Ed Sheeran charity concert tickets offered for re-sale at an uncharitable £5,000 (€5,600).

In March, MPs voted in favour of an amendment to the Digital Copyright Bill banning ticket-buying bots, and requiring resellers to provide more information to buyers, including the ticket reference and booking number. Later in the month, the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee’s inquiry on ticket abuse heard tales of fraudulent practice from managers, promoters and primary ticketing companies, who complained that the big four secondary companies are all, to varying degrees, flouting Consumer Rights Act regulations. Viagogo failed to show.

Rob Wilmshurst appeared, though he is uncertain of the long-term impact of the inquiry. “It was fun,” he says. “Progress?

Not sure, probably not. The market just needs to sort itself out.

Legislate or regulate or don’t, but fucking get on with it.”

Adam Webb, spokesman for industry anti-touting group the FanFair Alliance, senses progress, though. He feels the government has moved from sceptical to convinced on the question of the evils of industrialised touting.

“Obviously, they supported the amendment that went into the Digital Economy Bill on bots, and it’s been very helpful that there has been cross-party support to get some change. It’s now on The One Show and it’s a daily fixture in the media.”

The next steps, he says, involve a push to enforce infringements of existing laws and an ambitious crack at Google,

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Coldplay included a visit to Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on their latest tour

on which secondary sites can pay for the ability to dominate results for specific ticket searches.

“Going forward into the next parliament, the two big things are: the enforcement issue, where trading standards say they don’t have the resources, and government have said they are going to give them; and the Google issue,” says Webb. “It’s obviously a big problem when people are going to Viagogo, or some other site, thinking it’s the official site. But at the moment, primary brands are getting relegated down the search rankings.”

Recognising that there is something of a market for resold tickets, various operators have launched ‘ethical’ marketplaces, enabling fans to pass on inventory they no longer want. Twickets is the most notable ticket exchange, with its 10% cap, though others include Vibe Tickets and Scarlet Mist, which both stipulate resale at face value or less, and See Tickets has launched its own Fan2Fan resale platform, which has a 5%-cap.

“What’s important to us is to offer an alternative to the fairly abhorrent practices of the secondary market,” says Twickets founder Richard Davies. “Our view, as fans, first and foremost, is that an alternative was needed; that most fans don’t want to profit, they just want to get their money back.”

Twickets has partnered with artists including Adele, Ed Sheeran and The Flaming Lips, and when it recently launched in Australia,

82 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

its app was downloaded nearly 10,000 times overnight.

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES Until Brexit kicks in at least, the UK is a melting pot of every possible local and international sound, and British music export remains strong. One in eight artist albums sold around the world in 2016 was by a British act, according to the BPI. CULTURAL ANALYSIS Research has shown that consumers are more than ready for mobile tickets in the UK. Many promoters don’t yet want to leave paper behind, though ticketing companies will be glad when they do.

“We should be able to sell a mobile ticket or an e-ticket and have it go straight to the venue, without any need for them to send us stock that we then need to register before we send it back out again,” says Ticket Arena director Reshad Hossenally. “It’s frustrating, and every ticketing company has the same issue.”

TAXES AND CHARGES VAT at 20% is payable on concert tickets in the UK. Booking or service charges are less standardised but hover at around 10% or 11% of the face value of a ticket, plus delivery, collection and home-printing charges.

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INTERNATIONAL PROFILES

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Languages: English, Spanish | Population (millions): 326.6 | Currency: Dollar | GDP/Capita (US$): 57,400 Internet Users (millions): 246.8 | Smartphone penetration: 77.0% | Population % aged 15–24: 13.3 | Population % aged 25–54: 39.4 PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 10,652 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 12,797

Coachella Festival in California has become one of the world’s most iconic events

W

ith Amazon dipping their toe in the North American market the future holds a different ticketing landscape. Mergers and acquisitions continue to alter the playing field, yet competition breeds excellence. Maureen Andersen, president/ CEO of the International Ticketing Association (INTIX), predicts that in the near future, tickets will be sold on Expedia-like websites that are solely devoted to tickets.

“Fans will see all the places they can buy the same ticket, at the various prices and choose, just like they do now with airfares and hotel rooms. The airlines figured it out; banking and ATM’s figured it out and ticketing will figure it out,” says Andersen. “If you can use points on a certain site, fans will go there. If you can bundle the ticket with something else that fans want on a certain site, they’ll go there. We’re in the age of choice – the ticketing industry will catch up.”

PRIMARY TICKETING There are in excess of 90 ticketing system competitors that vary in feature sets and proficiency. Many of these vendors tend to specialise in specific ticketing verticals. Some of the major players include, but are not limited to Ticketmaster, Paciolan, Tickets.com,

84 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

Tessitura Network, AudienceView, Etix, AXS, Eventbrite and Gateway Ticketing.

In previous years, it appeared that new ticketing platforms were emerging on what seemed like a daily basis. However, the overall need for a ‘new breed’ of self-op ticketing system has been met and, if anything, overall the market is flooded with too many ticketing platforms competing for the same market share. Because of this, there has been tremendous move toward consolidation amongst the various ticketing platform competitors in the industry, leading to many mergers and acquisitions in recent times. These include: Ticketfly – purchased by Pandora, then later sold to Eventbrite; AudienceView – acquired TheaterMania/OvationTix; Paciolan – absorbed New Era ticketing, then sold by Comcast Spectacor to Learfield (also a division of Comcast); ShoWare – acquired by Accesso (also acquired by Siriusware); AEG – partnered with Outbox to create AXS, and then merged with sports and collegiate specialist Veritix; Ticketmaster – acquired FrontGate, EventJoy and Universe; Shubert Ticketing – acquired Choice Ticketing; Eventbrite – acquired Queue; and TicketBreak and Will Call were acquired by Ticketfly. And shortly before ITY’s deadline, Paciolan acquired Tickets West, making it the second biggest

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES USA

Celine Dion is one of a number of stars to benefit from residencies in Las Vegas, with the Colosseum at Caesars Palace providing the venue, ticketed by AXS

primary platform in the United States.

In order to keep up with competitors, many platforms have also partnered with, or purchased, third-party providers that include everything from parking management systems like ParkHub (Tickets.com); music software providers such as Spotify (Eventbrite & AXS); social media platforms such as Facebook (Eventbrite) or Yelp (TicketNetwork); CRM tools like SalesForce (Tickets.com); and even distribution deals with organisations like Costco and Gametime (Ticketmaster), or Bandsintown (Eventbrite).

Ticketing platform vendors provide their services in a number of ways, from a financial perspective, including arrangements that vary from retaining all or part of the consumer fee to a straight licensing fee or combinations thereof. Additional items incorporated in a deal may include signing bonuses, cash advances, sponsorships, marketing allowances, premium seat purchases, on-site support, hardware, third-party software, guaranteed technology deliverables, ticket stock, and more.

Verticals such as fairs & amusement, general admission misc. events, and attractions & museums have some of the largest untapped areas and therefore highest potential for continued growth, while verticals such as top-tier pro-sports have little room for change and penetration by new competitors not already in that space.

DISTRIBUTION OF SALES According to the INTIX member survey 2016, the majority (55%) of venues and organisations that responded reported a “moderate to significant increase” in online sales. Additionally, 55% of vendors stated that there was a moderate increase in mobile ticket sales over the past year.

Furthermore, on average, 43% of respondents claimed their tickets were sold via Internet, 21% by telephone, 20% sold via walk up, with the remaining sold through mobile (7%), mail (5%), other off-site outlets (3%) or fax (1%).

Organisations continue to utilise a wide variety of ticketing platforms. Ticketmaster Classic (26%) and/or Ticketmaster Archtics (17%) remain the top two ticketing platforms most often used among survey respondents. Followed by Tessitura (12%), Spectra Ticketing & Fan Engagement (Paciolan) (11%), and/or Tickets.com

(11%). Other ticketing partners include Goldstar, Groupon, TicketExchange (operated by Ticketmaster), Travelzoo and Living Social. The 2016 INTIX reported that 46% of respondents did not have a secondary ticketing partner.

SECONDARY TICKETING Secondary sales of tickets play a major role in the North American market – but especially in sports and live music. There are a number of secondary market organisations throughout the US, consisting of both bricks and mortar, and online web-based solutions. The law and regulations regarding the resale of tickets vary from state to state and even down to the local municipality level.

The biggest players in resale are StubHub, Ticketmaster and VividSeats, although there are literally hundreds of other companies that operate in the secondary market. Seatgeek, through its purchase of Toptix, is one operator, along with the big three, that is offering consumers tickets in both the primary and secondary sectors.

Some estimates say that over $8bn (€6.8bn) worth of tickets are resold each year, although, as the market continues to evolve, the total value becomes more difficult to estimate. This becomes especially tough as venues partner with secondary market providers to sell tickets for the first time (primary sales) through a secondary market distribution channel. Also, through consign back models and similar programmes, venues have the opportunity to sell tickets for a second time utilising a primary sales channel (box office, phone, web sales, etc), generating revenue for both the original owner of the ticket as well as the venue.

Additionally, new types of distribution channels are popping up.

Similar to the way many airlines already work – where consumers can purchase through a multitude of different distribution sites – some venues and vendors are creating a centralised inventory of tickets that can be sold through multiple sanctioned distribution channels at once (such as the venue’s website, the vendor’s website, SeatGeek, Amazon, GameTime, StubHub, Groupon, etc).

Overall positive reactions and higher customer satisfaction rates are being reported by organisations that utilise platforms with the ability to sell tickets from multiple vendors.

INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017 • 85

INTERNATIONAL PROFILES USA

VALUE OF MARKET The marketplace is actually growing in terms of number of tickets processed. People have begun to utilise various ticketing platforms to sell admissions to events that have never been ticketed before including fairs, exhibitions, college graduations, high school sporting events, local fundraisers, etc. As the Total Addressable Market (TAM) continues to grow, the overall scope and definition of the market also expands to include events that do not necessarily fall under the live entertainment category. Because of this, it can be difficult to determine and agree upon what genres and specific events should and shouldn’t be included, and therefore hard to pinpoint the exact value of the US marketplace.

According to FutureTix, a ticketing consulting company that focuses primarily on the US ticketing and live entertainment market: “Approximately 1.55 billion tickets or admissions are sold in the primary market within the US each year. This equals approximately $58bn [€49 bn] (face value) in ticket sales and breaks down to over 4.2 million tickets a day, about 177,000 per hour, or nearly 3,000 per minute.”

INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES The US primary ticketing marketplace can be broken into 16 verticals that have varying technological requirements as well as different business requirements and models from top tier sports venues to festivals, casinos and comedy clubs. These verticals are: top-tier pro-sports and arenas (4 major leagues); other pro and minor league stadiums; second-tier arenas with a resident team(s); small arenas (without team) and amphitheatres; college division I; college division ii+; college arts; commercial arts (for profit); non-profit arts – classic (ballet, opera, orchestral); non-profit arts – community; fairs and amusements; attractions and museums; music and comedy clubs; festivals; casinos; and other GA miscellaneous events.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS Live entertainment ticketing is an affinity-based industry. For many years, venues and organisations could dictate policies (eg “best available” seating, no returns or exchanges, strict pricing and

Country music superstar couple Tim McGraw and Faith Hill have enjoyed huge success in 2017 with their Soul2Soul tour

86 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

fees) and fans had no choice but to follow. However, the industry now finds itself attempting to balance future initiatives to meet the demands of two very different groups, as the torch is handed off from baby boomers to millennials.

Millennials overtook Generation X and now there is another big buying group that venues, retailers and consumer brands should be ready for, and it is even larger: Generation Z (born roughly between the mid-1990s and mid-2000s). Focusing on Generation Z makes retail sense, as they outnumber millennials, influence $600bn (€510bn) of family spending, and are set to comprise 40% of consumers by 2020, according to HRC Retail Advisory, a retail strategic firm.

Studies show that Gen Z’ers are twice as likely to want to buy tickets on a mobile than millennials and that they have already bought tickets to sporting events and concerts. Clearly their time as decisionmakers has emerged quickly and it is critical that venues and ticket marketers seriously consider, and even cater to, their mindset.

TAXES AND CHARGES Taxation on tickets in the US is governed on a state and local municipality level and varies greatly from zero taxes or regulatory fees to areas that have several types of surcharges added to the ticket face value.

For the most part, venues and organisations reside within a fee-based environment (per ticket fees, order fees, etc). In many cases, it is these fees that drive the revenue that can be shared with the ticketing software provider.

According to the 2016 INTIX member survey, “customer service fees are considered to be a profit source by 70% of responding INTIX venues and were collected on every type of sale – the highest being web (92%) and phone sales (84%). Mobile sales (70%), mail orders (53%), season sales (59%), and ticket exchanges (47%) were also assessed with customer service charges.”

INTIX deduce that “a per-ticket and/or a per-order service fee was charged by nearly all of the responding venues (94%). Most venues reported the service charges per ticket (59%) and per ticket order (53%) were $5 or less.”

Prepared by Kelly Brennan, US Market Industry Expert

ITY2017 PARTNERS

PARTNERS INTIX The International Ticketing Association (INTIX) connects entertainment professionals with the education, innovation, tools, and relationships necessary to ignite success. The INTIX Annual Conference & Exhibition is the industry’s premier event of the year – a three-day professional development forum with a comprehensive programme of educational and industry leader presentations highlighting trends and innovations; an exhibition featuring a wide range of ticketing products and services; and opportunities to engage and network with 1,000+ industry professionals from across the globe. www.intix.org

TICKETING PROFESSIONALS CONFERENCE The 2018 Ticketing Professionals Conference in Birmingham, UK, will once again bring together industry leaders from major event ticketing verticals. Curated by industry professionals, the conference delivers a range of content, learning and sharing over two days and twenty-four sessions, attended by 300 delegates.

Run on a not-just-for-profit basis, Ticketing Professionals strives to offer a financially accessible learning experience, driven for the benefit of the participants. www.ticketingprofessionals.co.uk

TICKET SUMMIT Ticket Summit is the leading conference and trade show for ticketing and live entertainment. Join 800 key industry leaders and professionals for workshops, panels, keynotes, a large trade show, countless networking opportunities, and much more. www.ticketsummit.org

EUROSONIC NOORDERSLAG Eurosonic Noorderslag is the key exchange and networking platform for European music, with a proven track record for helping new acts break into the international music scene.

Selling out each year, Eurosonic Noorderslag attracts over 3,900 delegates, including 400 international festivals. www.eurosonic-noorderslag.nl

INTERNATIONAL LIVE MUSIC CONFERENCE Since 1989, the ILMC has been the meeting point for the global live music business. The invitation-only event welcomes over 1,000 professionals annually from over 60 countries. ILMC delegates range from promoters and agents, to ticketing professionals, artist managers, festivals, and venues. As well as publishing IQ Magazine (www.iq-mag.net), ILMC also organises various other events, including the International Festival Forum, ILMC Production Meeting, and the Green Events & Innovations Conference. www.ilmc.com

REEPERBAHN FESTIVAL Reeperbahn Festival presents more than 700 events spanning a range of genres in various locations around Hamburg’s Reeperbahn. It boasts a broad spectrum of 450 emerging artists, and in addition to this, the festival programme includes events in the fields of fine art, film, and literature.

The Reeperbahn Conference programme is designed for professionals active in the music and creative digital industries, and features sessions, showcases, networking events, and awards ceremonies. www.reeperbahnfestival.com

EUROLATAM SPORTS MARKETING SUMMIT EuroLatam is Latin America’s leading event for the sports industry and the only one capable of creating strategic partnerships in Europe. It’s an initiative that drives continuous improvement, innovation, and collaboration through a vibrant business atmosphere in which clubs, leagues, services, brands and other stakeholders can interact directly. www.eurolatamsummit.com

MOSCOW TICKETING FORUM The main target of the Moscow Ticketing Forum is to build a communication platform for the key players of ticketing technologies and solutions: ticket operators; service providers and agents of the ticketing market; the largest sporting events; concert and festival organisers; museums, theatres and exhibition spaces; and sport clubs and stadiums. More than 500 participants from Russia and other countries are expected to attend the Moscow Ticketing Forum 2018. www.ticketingforum.ru

INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017 • 87

ITY2017 INDEX

COMPANY INDEX 0–9 228 (CN) 228.com.cn A A2Z Tickets (US) a2z-tickets.com Ace Ticket (US) aceticket.com Adticket (DE) adticket.de AleBilet (PL) alebilet.pl Alibaba (CN) alibaba.com All Access (AR) allaccess.com.ar All Events Tickets (US) alleventstix.com Amazon Tickets (UK) tickets.amazon.co.uk APACTix (SG) apactix.com Art-Mate (HK) art-mate.net Asia Music Fest (HK) asiamusicfest.com Atrapalo (INT’L) atrapalo.com AudienceView (INT’L) audienceview.com Avance Pay (CH) avance-pay.com Aventus Systems (INT’L) aventus.io AXS (INT’L) axs.com B Baltic Ticket Holdings (INT’L) piletilevi.ee Biļešu Paradīze (LV) bilesuparadize.lv Biļešu Serviss (LV) bilesuserviss.lv Bilete (RO) bilete.ro Biletiastana (KZ) biletiastana.kz Biletinial (TU) biletinial.com Biletino (TU) biletino.com Biletix (TU) biletix.com Bilettix (DE) bilettix.net Bilheteira Online (PT) bol.pt Bilietai (LT) bilietai.lt Bilietu Pasaulis (LT) bilietupasaulis.lt Biljettforum (SE) biljettforum.se Billet (DK) billet.dk Billetlugen (DK) billetlugen.dk Billetportalen (NO) billettportalen.no BilletRéduc (FR) billetreduc.com Billetten (DK) billetten.dk Billetto (INT’L) billetto.com Billettservice (NO) ticketmaster.no Blueticket (PT) blueticket.pt Bohemia Ticket (CZ) bohemiaticket.cz Boletia (MX) boletia.com BookingShow (IT) bookingshow.it BookMyShow (INT’L) bookmyshow.com Box Office (IT) boxol.it Brown Paper Tickets (INT’L) brownpapertickets.com C Carrefour Spectacles (FR) spectacles.carrefour.fr Citizen Ticket (UK) citizenticket.co.uk Cityline (HK) cityline.com Codetickets (ES) codetickets.com Computicket (ZA) online.computicket.com Concert (RU) concert.ru Coras (INT’L) coras.io Crowd Connected (UK) crowdconnected.co.uk CTS Eventim (INT’L) eventim.de

Culturall (AT) culturall.com D Damai (CN) damai.cn Dash Tickets (NZ) dashtickets.co.nz Der Ticketservice (DE) derticketservice.de Dice (UK) dice.fm Digitick (FR) digitick.com Dilyaver (RU) dilyaver.ru Dot Tickets (INT’L) tickets.tickets DTCM (AE) visitdubai.com Dutchband (INT’L) dutchband.com E e-Tickets (HK) e-Tickets.hk e+ (JP) eplus.jp Easy Ticket Service (DE) easyticket.de eBilet (PL) ebilet.pl El Corte Inglés (ES) elcorteingles.es Enta (INT’L) enta.com EntradaFan (AR) entradafan.com.ar Entradas (ES) entradas.com Entradas 365 (ES) entradas365.com Etix (US) etix.com Eventbrite (INT’L) eventbrite.com Eventick (BR) sympla.com.br Evento (INT’L) evento.com F Fair Ticket Solutions (CA) fairticketsolutions.com Fan Engagement (INT’L) fangage.me Fandango (BR, US) fandango.com FanFair Alliance (UK) fanfairalliance.org fanSALE (DE) fansale.de Festik (FR) festik.net Flavorus (US) flavorus.com Fnac (INT’L) fnac.com Fnac Spectacles (FR) fnacspectacles.com France Billet (FR) francebillet.com Front Gate Tickets (US) frontgatetickets.com G Gateway Ticketing (US) gatewayticketing.com Get Me In! (UK) getmein.com Gigantic (UK) gigantic.com global event technologies (AT) get.systems Grassroots Venues Tickets (UK) grassrootsvenues.tickets Guestme (FR) guestme.live Guts Tickets (NL) guts.tickets H HighFive (TR) highfive.com.tr HK Clubbing (HK) hkclubbing.com HK Ticketing (HK) hkticketing.com Hotdog Tix (HK) hotdogtix.com I iabilet (RO) iabilet.ro Ingresse (BR) ingresse.com Ingresso Rápido (BR) ingressorapido.com.br

88 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

Ingresso (BR) ingresso.com Insider (IN) insider.in Intellitix (INT’L) intellitix.com InTickets (RU) intickets.ru iTicket (NZ) iticket.co.nz iTickets (ZA) itickets.co.za J JetTicket (DE) jetticketsoftware.com K Kassir (KZ) kassir.kz Kassir (RU) kassir.ru Koncertyastana (KZ) koncertyastana.kz Kyazoonga (INT’L) kyazoonga.com L Last Tix (AU) lasttix.com.au Lawson HMV Entertainment (JP) lawson.jp Lippupalvelu (FI) ticketmaster.fi Lippupiste (FI) lippu.fi LivePass (AR) livepass.com.ar LivePass (BR) livepass.com.br LiveTickets (RO) livetickets.ro M Maoye (CN) maoye.cn Mobile Media Content (INT’L) mobilemediacontent.com Mobilet (TR) mobilet.com Moshtix (AU) moshtix.com.au Music Glue (INT’L) musicglue.com Muzbilet (RU) muzbilet.ru München Ticket (DE) muenchenticket.de Mypiao (CN) mypiao.com Myticket (DE) myticket.de MyTicket (RO) myticket.ro Myticket (UK) myticket.co.uk MyWayTicket (IT) mywayticket.it N Never Empty (ES) neveremptytickets.com NTK (NL) ntk.nl Ntry (AT) ntry.at NuTickets (UK, ZA) nutickets.com O Ocesa (MX) ocesa.com.mx Oeticket (AT) oeticket.com Onebox (ES) oneboxtm.com OnlineticketShop (INT’L) onlineticketsshop.com Oxynade (INT’L) oxynade.com P Panda Ticket (FR) panda-ticket.com Parter (RU) parter.ru Passolig (TU) passolig.com.tr Paylogic (INT’L) paylogic.com Peatix (JP, SG) peatix.com Pelago (HK) pelago.events Petzitickets (CH) petzitickets.ch Piao (CN) piao.com Piao88 (CN) piao88.com Piaobuy (CN) piaobuy.com Piletilevi (EE) piletilevi.ee Placeminute (FR) placeminute.com

ITY2017 INDEX

Plankton (ZA) plankton.mobi Platinum List (AE) dubai.platinumlist.net Playpass (INT’L) playpass.be Ponominalu (RU) ponominalu.ru Pramogaukit (LT) pramogaukit.lt Predpredaj (SK) predpredaj.zoznam.sk Předprodej (CZ) predprodej.cz Puntoticket (CL) puntoticket.com Q Quicket (ZA) quicket.co.za R Radario (INT’L) radario.co Rang1Tickets (NL) rang1tickets.nl RazorGator Tickets (US) razorgator.com RedKassa (RU) redkassa.ru Reservix (CH, DE) reservix.de S SAP (DE) sap.com/germany SeatGeek (INT’L) seatgeek.com Seats.io (INT’L) seats.io Seatwave (Europe) seatwave.com SecuTix (CH, ES, FR) secutix.com See Tickets (UK) seetickets.com SemHora (BR) semhora.com.br Showbiz (AU) showbiz.com.au Simplyitickets (CA) simplyitickets.com SISTIC (SG) sistic.com.sg Six Dots (CZ) ticketon.cz Skiddle (UK) skiddle.com Songkick (INT’L) songkick.com Spectra Ticketing (US) spectraexperiences.com Sports Hub Tix (SG) sportshub.com.sg Starticket (CH) starticket.ch Stodola (PL) stodola.pl StubHub (INT’L) stubhub.com Superboletos (MX) superboletos.com Swisscom (CH) swisscom.ch Sympla (BR) sympla.com.br T Tao Piao Piao (CN) alibaba.com Taquilla Mediaset (ES) taquillamediaset.es Tele Ticket Service (BE) teleticketservice.com TengoEntradas (ES) tengoentradas.com Tessitura Network (US) tessituranetwork.com The Ticket Factory (UK) theticketfactory.com The Ticket Fairy (INT’L) theticketfairy.com The Ticket Group (AU) ttg.com.au ThePointOfSale (CA) thepointofsale.com Tick&Live (FR) tickandlive.com Ticket Arena & Event Genius (UK) ticketarena.co.uk Ticket Camp (JP) ticketcamp.net Ticket Direct (NZ) ticketdirect.co.nz Ticket Liquidator (ES) ticketliquidator.com Ticket Pia (JP) t.pia.jp Ticket Ryutsu Center (JP) ticket.co.jp Ticket-line (AE) ticket-line.ae Ticket360 (BR) ticket360.com.br Ticketac (FR) ticketac.com

TicketArena (GR) ticketarena.gr TicketArt (CZ) vstupenky.ticket-art.cz Ticketbis (INT’L) ticketbis.net Ticketbooth (NZ) ticketbooth.co.nz TicketCo (NO) ticketco.no Ticketcorner (CH) ticketcorner.ch Ticketea (INT’L) ticketea.com Ticketek (INT’L) ticketek.com TicketExchange (US) ticketexchangebyticketmaster.com Ticketflap (HK) ticketflap.com Ticketfly (INT’L) ticketfly.com Ticketfrog (CH) ticketfrog.ch Ticketgenie (IN) ticketgenie.in Tickethall (DE) tickethall.de Tickethour (GR) buy.tickethour.com Tickethouse (GR) tickethouse.gr Ticketino (CH) ticketino.com Ticketland (RU) ticketland.ru Ticketline (PT) ticketline.sapo.pt Ticketline (UK) ticketline.co.uk Ticketmarket (LT) ticketmarket.lt Ticketmaster (INT’L) ticketmaster.com Ticketmaster+ (US) ticketmaster.com/verified Ticketmatic (BE, NL) ticketmatic.com TicketNetwork (ES) ticketnetwork.com TicketNew (IN) ticketnew.com Ticketon (CZ) ticketon.cz Ticketon (KZ) ticketon.kz TicketOne (IT) ticketone.it Ticketplan (UK) ticketplangroup.com Ticketpoint (NL) ticketpoint.nl TicketPony (ZA) ticketpony.co.za Ticketportal (AR) ticketportal.com.ar Ticketportal (CH) ticketportal.com Ticketportal (INT’L) ticketportal.cz Ticketpro (INT’L) ticketpro.com TicketPro (ZA) ticketpro.co.za Tickets 365 (CN) tickets365.com.cn Tickets Cloud (RU) ticketscloud.org Tickets.com (US) tickets.com Tickets.ie (IE) tickets.ie Tickets4Fun (BR) ticketsforfun.com.br Ticketscript (INT’L) company.ticketscript.com TicketServ (INT’L) ticketserv.com TicketServices (GR) ticketservices.gr TicketsNow (US) ticketsnow.com Ticketsolve (IE) ticketsolve.com TicketSource (INT’L) ticketsource.co.uk Ticketstream (CZ) ticketstream.cz TicketStreet (JP) ticket.st TicketSwap (INT’L) ticketswap.com TicketTickster (SE) tickster.com TicketToad (US) tickettoad.com TicketTribune (NL) tickettribune.nl Ticketure (NZ) ticketure.com Ticketweb (INT’L) ticketweb.com Ticket Zone (UK) ticketzone.co.uk Tickx (UK) tickx.co.uk Ticnet (SE) ticketmaster.se Tiketa plius (LT) tiketa.lt

90 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017

Tiketore (JP) tiketore.com Tiketti (FI) tiketti.fi Tikly (US) tickly.co Tipo Ticketing (CH) tipo.ch Tixbox (AE, TU) tixbox.com Tixa (HU) tixa.hu Tixsa (ZA) tixsa.co.za Tixserve (UK) tixserve.com TixTec (CH) ticketmaster.ch TLS Boca Systems (INT’L) bocasystems.com TokenStub (INT’L) tokenstub.io TopTicketshop (BE, NL) topticketshop.nl TopTix (INT’L) toptix.com Tu Entrada (AR) tuentrada.com Twickets (INT’L) twickets.co.uk U Universe (INT’L) universe.com Urbtix (HK) urbtix.hk V Vente-privee (FR) vente-privee.com Venuepoint (DK) venuepoint.net Viagogo (INT’L) viagogo.com Vibe Tickets (UK) vibetickets.co.uk Viberate (INT’L) viberate.io VisionOne (INT’L) accesso.com Viva (GR) viva.gr VivaTicket (IT) vivaticket.it W Webtickets (ZA) webtickets.co.za WeDemand! (INT’L) wedemand.com Weezevent (FR) weezevent.com WeGotTickets (UK) wegottickets.com white label eCommerce (DE) the-white-label.com Wien-Ticket (AT) wien-ticket.at Worldticketshop (INT’L) worldticketshop.com Y YPlan (INT’L) yplanapp.com Z Zakazbiletov (KZ) zakazbiletov.kz.

Zappa Group (IL) zappa-club.co.il

LOOK WHAT WE‘VE ACHIEVED

TOGETHER Your success is our ultimate goal – if that means winning the Arthur Award for ticketing, all the better! We understand your needs and provide customised solutions for sold-out shows and unforgettable events.

Get in touch with our international team and find out which award EVENTIM can win for you!

Contact: international@eventim.com