Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Staff/wire report
Event tickets seller Ticketmaster announced it is introducing new technology to let artists and sports teams raise or lower ticket prices to reflect demand during the initial sales period — a move it said will crimp the profits of scalpers and boost revenue for performers and teams.
The technology could push up initial prices for front-row seats while reducing prices on less-desirable ones that might have gone unsold otherwise.
Ticketmaster, a division of Live Nation Entertainment Inc., says the change should make it harder for anyone to send prices soaring by buying up all the best tickets and reselling them at substantial profit.
“When the fan experience is not clouded by scalpers grabbing seats, or when there’s more options for fans to come to a better show, that has a great impact on our business,” Ticketmaster Chief Executive Nathan Hubbard said in an interview.
Ken Bigley, the Covelli Centre’s assistant director, said the focus of this program right now is on large markets and large facilities.
“It’s something we’ll keep a close eye on,” he said. “We’re major supporters of anything that cuts down on scalping and helps protect our customers. At this time, we don’t have enough information to determine if we support this or not.”
The company already is testing the system, known as “dynamic pricing,” with several professional baseball, basketball and hockey teams. Ticketmaster plans to roll it out at some North American venues in the middle of the summer concert season this year.
Live Nation’s revenue fell 9 percent in 2010 as concert ticket sales dropped.