Amazon might get into event ticket sales, according to a new report from Reuters. The commerce giant has eyed the space, which is largely dominated by Live Nation’s Ticketmaster in the U.S., and found it a space for plenty of potential opportunity, according to the outlet’s sources.
There’s definitely wiggle room on the side of consumer experience; Ticketmaster receives plenty of grief from customers for its fees and practices. And Reuters claims there’s appetite on the side of sports leagues, venue operators and sports teams, since they hope to grow ticket sales in general with some variety in distribution avenues.
Ticketmaster has managed so far to fend off potential upstart competitors, including ticketing platforms like Universe and Front Gate. Amazon, of course, is not a startup, and could carry considerably more weight. Plus, it already has relationships in place with key music industry players, and arguably one of the largest addressable customer bases with payment information on file ever amassed.
Reuters says that Amazon had talked to Ticketmaster about potential partnerships stateside, but that its sources claim those talks have stalled. Amazon has also talked to leagues about potential StubHub-style secondary market ticket resales, too, the report claims.
Where Amazon might have difficulty moving forward in this potential endeavor is around customer data. Venue and team owners want specific customer info to help them develop the right approach to marketing to their most lucrative customer demographics, but Reuters says Amazon has been reluctant to share said data in a prospective ticket sales partnership.
Ticket sales could end up being a potential additional driver for Prime memberships, too; you can imagine how Amazon would be able to secure reserved blocks for Prime members for high-demand events, open early pre-sales or offer other member-exclusive benefits. It’s a model already used by other membership-style programs, including American Express’ cardholder programs.
We’ve reached out to Amazon for a statement, but had not received a response as of publication time.
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