Jujamcyn to NYT: When Theater Returns, We Will Use SeatGeek Instead Of Ticketmaster

I am so happy about this. I was starting to think that Ticketmaster and Telecharge were going to be the ONLY ticketing providers for a long time, and their fees were always so crazy to me. But I just thought they had all the power, so I just accepted it. Same with Stubhub.

Genuine question for anyone who might have insight: what are the implications/consequences of this? I've probably used SeatGeek before at some point, but I don't know what, if anything, sets it apart from other services. And TBH I only occasionally use Ticketmaster or Telecharge either. So I don't really understand what would have motivated this change, or what it might mean for the future.

Also, I'm out of NYT articles for the month, so if there's anything in the linked article that answers my questions, I don't have access to it - sorry!

The article says nothing about financial arrangements though I imagine this deal is a net savings. The main thrust is technology (and TM is very very rusty and not intuitive, kind of the difference between Amazon and Netflix or Spotify). In addition to the data component, Roth talks about collateral purchasing (dinner, parking, etc) in a way that makes me think that there will be a revenue sharing aspect that is not happening now. Could this cause Nederlanders to switch? Who knows? As noted, the Shuberts will not be shopping this LOL.

Super simple. Fourteen theaters have nothing to do with Telecharge. Period.

Sutton Ross said: "Super simple. Fourteen theaters have nothing to do with Telecharge. Period."

OK, but that's not news. You seem to be burying the lede, and it's actually a biggie.

PS Apple has nothing to do with Microsoft.

Islander_fan said: "I highly doubt Nederlander is going to remove itself from Ticketmaster. In addition to owning Broadway theatres,(and to anextent both Broadway in Chicago as well as the Pantages in LA) their other big business is owning and operating theatres nationwide. Theatres that are used for concerts and national tours. So I can’t see them making a switch from Ticketmaster anytime soon as a result. I mean if they just had a few theatres on Broadway, maybe. But, seeing as they don’t I can’t see them leaving Ticketmaster any time soon."

"Anytime soon" I agree with you but this space is in quite a bit of flux and I wouldn't put all of my money on TM long term. It really depends on what TM does in reaction and whether it is "smart." You'll recall that they reacted to covid in a way that turned out to be super dumb. Interestingly, TM presents a variation of the Shubert situation due to Live Nation. In the end it is all about money.

To me, it just seems so weird to think the "official" ticket website for these theatres will be a website that I think of as a resale, not 100% legit ticket source. It's like buying off of StubHub and hoping for the best. Maybe this will make it more "legit" as a source.

When I've used SeatGeek in the past, I always thought their best feature was the aggregation of multiple third-party resellers, so it should be interesting to see how they do as a primary source (though I think I heard the UK uses them as such?). I've never had an issue with Ticketmaster, and actually appreciate their mobile interface (which is impossible to get working well on Telecharge), though I'll admit their fees can get high sometimes. But I think purchasing on mobile has always been the mission statement of TodayTix so it should be interesting to see more platforms move into that space.

I think Telechage actually provides customer service not something experienced at Ticketmaster. Wonder what customer service exists at Seat Geek.

re fees:

the issue is not that they are paid for their service but that they are overpaid. Remember also that ticket sellers are monopolies as to each venue and thus engaging in monopoly pricing except to the extent that the theatre owner takes steps that are pro-competition.

While it is certainly true that theatre owners are out to make a buck, it is also true that they are (or need to be) attentive to the customer experience. This is not out of some institutional generosity but rather because it sells tickets. There is plenty of data that when fees are viewed as excessive, some people don't buy the tickets (ironically even when they are buying expensive tickets) and no one on the business side of show business likes that. Likewise, while it is true that the fees are (sometimes) avoidable by going to the box office, that has a negative effect on both the customer experience and also the bottom line.

So what Jujamcyn is doing is smart on several levels and will have a positive ripple effect out of necessity.

In my experience, Telecharge's customer service is miles ahead of Ticketmaster. Hopefully SeatGeek, being more startup, will be able to keep a standard of theatre knowledge and customer service, especially with Jordan Roth's standards.