2nd Annual Ticket Summit in New York City Dominated By Merger Talk

While there were many topics discussed at the 2nd annual Ticket Summit in New York City the subject du jour was the proposed merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation.

The secondary ticket market’s largest conference and trade show was held at the Waldorf=Astoria from January 13th through the 15th. The Ticket Summit played host to an estimated 500 ticketing professionals. It’s the must-attend event for those working in the ticket industry. The summit offers ample opportunities for attendees to network and discuss the future of the secondary ticket market.

Ticket Summit 2010 got underway Wednesday afternoon with a cocktail reception. On Thursday, the conference featured panel discussions concerning the economics of the industry, pending ticket legislation, and ways for brokers to improve their relationships with other businesses in the ticket industry.

“Over the years, the power of ticket sellers as part of the marketing and promotion for acts has been overlooked. Ticket companies can play a greater part in the marketing and selling of tickets,” said Jeff Allen, co-owner of Universal Attractions.

On the final day of the summit founder and CEO of Qcue, Barry Kahn, led a panel discussion on “How To Price Your Tickets” and the co-founder of SeatGeek, Jack Groetzinger, led a panel discussion on the best time for ticket brokers to buy and sell their inventory.

Friday afternoon featured an informative discussion of past, present and future trends of the primary market. That was followed by representatives from the NBA, NHL and WPS discussing the latest developments in sports venue management and ways to increase partnerships.

Attendees at Ticket Summit 2010 also heard from Andy Cotten of Yahoo!, Braden Cox of NetChoice, Gretchen Shugart of TheaterMania, and Larry Witherspoon of Tickets.com.

Even with the vast array of subjects addressed at the summit, most discussions were dominated by talk of the Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger.

“It’ll be terribly unfair to consumers if the Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger goes through,” said Sean Healy, owner of WeBookBands.com.

Healy, like many at the Ticket Summit, believes the merged company will hoard “competitive information” that’s vital for brokers and their businesses.

The U.S. Department of Justice has been reviewing the proposed merger for nearly a year. They haven’t announced when they will reveal their ruling but insiders believe it could happen within the next few weeks.

In the meantime, a group of ticket experts, featuring college professors Joris Drayer and Stephen Shapiro, ticket executive James Reese, and Ticketnetwork’s Dan Pullium, are working with the Better Ticketing Association to survey those in the secondary ticket industry.

The group hopes to use the data they collect to forge a better picture of the secondary market and to learn more about its customers.

“It’s easier to keep customers you have than to go out and try to find new ones,” Reese said.

The questionnaire can be found at the Better Ticketing Web site.

The next Ticket Summit 2010 is scheduled for July 14-16 at The Venetian in Las Vegas, Nevada.