Yesterday, I talked about this new app Mark Zuckerberg was building for Facebook. Now, within a 24-hour period, Facebook has made deals with two major ticket brokers.
Both Ticketmaster and Evenbrite will be selling concerts through Facebook in the coming weeks. Ticketmaster will start selling tickets through Facebook later this month. Plus, Facebook will get a fee whenever their tickets are sold through them. An Evenbrite spokesperson said they will offer Facebook no such fee; we don’t even know how Evenbrite will compensate Facebook. A Facebook representative said his company wants to reach platforms in all walks of life, saying, “We want to help not just people find events, but also get to events faster.? Ticketmaster and Evenbrite have something to gain too. Facebook has 1.6 billion users. Just think, it used to be just a billion. ?But now, that’s over 20% of the whole world’s population. The reasons of this business deal should be obvious. But one reason may not be. It’s getting pretty difficult for these ticket brokers selling on their own websites. This is thanks to mobile apps and other websites offering easier ways to get the same tickets at equal or lesser price. An Evenbrite VP expressed excitement and optimism about the deal by saying, “?Enabling a seamless purchase experience for consumers in places like Facebook where they are spending significant time is an important step in this mission.”
These are smart moves on the part of Ticketmaster and Evenbrite leaders. I can go on ESPN and get a sports ticket through them. Okay, Stubhub provides the tickets, but surely you know what I’m getting at. Believe it or not, there are ticket counters around my city where you can get the tickets, and even pay cash. Hard to believe in 2016, huh? But more and more people are using the Internet and their smartphones to get tickets. And if customers can’t find them on their regular website, then maybe Facebook and other social media is the way to go. Would you buy an Evenbrite or Ticketmaster ticket off Facebook?