On Monday, Ticketmaster launched their new blog Ticketology. We’re glad to see them take such a bold, fan-friendly and social step forward. But we have a few questions for them. Because that’s what we do.
There are many reasons why I think that launching Ticketology was a great idea. A move like this is long overdue and it’s about time Ticketmaster decided to use a blog to begin a conversation with fans.
And I hope Ticketmaster is genuinely interested in understanding the pain and dissatisfaction fans have felt regarding the service fees and other questionable behavior that makes concertgoing and ticket-buying a drag.
But it still remains to be seen just how “Upfront,” honest and transparent Ticketmaster will really be on future posts.
I’m an eternal optimist who has a good grasp of reality when it comes to how the concert industry works, so I’m not going to hold my breath.
But I will expect Ticketmaster to live up to the promises they’ve laid out in their first post.
Because with the summer concert industry turning out to be a downer this year, Ticketmaster and their recent merging partners Live Nation, have a lot of work ahead of them.
And this new blog seems to be the first step as they attempt to clear up any misconceptions about why Ticketmaster has to pile on all those service fees while Live Nation still charges high prices for beer and other concessions, even though they’re apparently hurting in the sales department. I know I’m looking forward to their explanations.
That said, after the ticket selling and concert promoting superpower reported quarter one losses and an even tougher 2010 summer, it was a smart move to cut service fees on Wednesdays this year.
But is their plan to let fans and Ticketmaster dialogue and understand each other better? Will they be meeting the needs of fans and customers like these.
It’s hard to tell since the first post doesn’t let you leave any comments, which makes it difficult to believe Ticketmaster really wants the dialogue between them and the fans to be open and transparent.
Again, I hope they do seek to be honest and open. And I hope they do allow blog comments on future posts, or at least let the dialogue between them and the fans be seen by everyone in some way.
Besides the transparency issues, I’m wondering about a couple of other important things too:
- Considering the recent merger, will Ticketology share and discuss the inside story of both Ticketmaster and Live Nation?
- Will the stories of the fans truly be told in their “fan spotlights?” Or will it be another form of manipulation? I hope for the former.
Who knows, maybe this will actually allow us to start talking about a real CARS program for concert fans?
And wherever Ticketology lead us, we’ll definitely keep an eye on future posts. I know I’m excited to see what happens.
What Say You Concert Fan?
What do you expect from Ticketology? What would you like to see from Ticketmaster and Live Nation on future posts? Do you think they will be fully transparent about their business and how their decisions impact the rest of the concert industry?