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Ticket to ride

By Yu Tianyu (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-11-10 08:09

US-based Ticketmaster, the world-leading live entertainment ticketing and marketing company, is exploring the Chinese market with its ticketing technologies and international management experience.

In 2007, Ticketmaster sold more than 141 million tickets valued at over $8.3 billion on behalf of its clients.

According to statistics, in Beijing alone, there were 13,240 ticketed live entertainment performances held in 2007, an increase by 42.7 percent year on year, and about 8 million people watched the performances. The annual revenue reached 416 million yuan.

At the same time, profit-making performance sites in the city grew to 54 from 47 in 2006.

"With extraordinary potential, China obviously has become our business focus with the growth of the domestic entertainment market and increasing public demands for entertainment and live cultural events," says Sean Moriarty, the president and CEO of Ticketmaster.

He says the live entertainment market is growing with increasing number of live shows by foreign stars and local artists.

Facing intense competition in China's live entertainment market, Moriarty is confident with his business, saying that business arrangements with performers are keys to a profitable live entertainment business, and Ticketmaster has many such links, especially to current best-sellers like Linkin Park, Celine Dion and Beyonce.

But every market has its own quirks due to differing cultures, interests and tastes. That's one issue Ticketmaster is considering in expanding its business in China, Moriarty says.

"Ticketmaster is organizing and ticketing local events and shows at the same time, like David Tao and Wang Lihong who are Chinese youngsters' favorite," says Jonathan Krane, president of Ticketmaster China.

"And also the live entertainment business is very labor-intensive, so that we employ local staff and pay attention to expanding our local presence," he says.

When Ticketmaster develops its ticketing technologies centrally they make a point of modifying them locally, he says.

"For example, during the Beijing Games, we worked very close with China Network Communications (CNC) Group and a third party software-testing company, to improve the capacity of our ticket-selling website from 48 million hits to 175 million hits," he says.

They also trained more than 600 university students in Beijing and other co-host cities for ticketing service during the Beijing Games.

The training included use of ticket-selling system, tamper-proof checking and other customer services and is another example of the company's efforts at localization, he says.

Technology is also very crucial in the live entertainment market and Ticketmaster has 500 people working in the field and each year about $150 million is spent on it, Moriarty says.

"Investment on technologies and quality services is key to our business. By providing technologies and services, we accumulate trust in China day by day," he says.

Serving the Beijing Games

After working as the official ticket supplier of the 2004 Athens Olympics, Ticketmaster again became the official exclusive ticketing service supplier for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and worked closely with the Beijing Organizing Committee for Olympic Games (BOCOG).

"In fact, the Beijing Games helped us to grow fast in the Chinese market," says Moriarty.

The company expanded its business in China after it acquired a majority stake in Emma Entertainment Holdings HK Ltd, a provider of ticketing and event promotions services in China, in May of 2007 and changed the name to Emma Ticketmaster.

The investment came after Ticketmaster set up a joint venture called Beijing Gehua Ticketmaster Ticketing Co Ltd with Beijing CSI Ticketing Development Co Ltd's China Sports Industry Group Co Ltd and Beijing Gehua Cultural Development Group.

As the Beijing 2008 Ticketing Services Exclusive Supplier, Gehua Ticketmaster was providing all ticketing services including the technology platform, order processing, sales channel functions, customer service, and on-site box office staffing in China.

The venture also provided the management and software to facilitate Olympic ticketing telephone sales, information and customer service supporting the Beijing 2008 Call Center ticketing operations and infrastructure.

Gehua Ticketmaster also facilitated all aspects of Olympic online ticket sales through the Official Beijing 2008 ticketing Website as well as the distribution technology platform for retail sales of Olympics tickets through Bank of China branch locations.

Through the whole period of cooperation, Ticketmaster was working closely with BOCOG, discussing problems and raising solutions, Moriarty says.

"Ticketing services were one of the most focused issues in Beijing Olympic preparations," says Yuan Bin, Marketing Director of BOCOG, in a media report.

"The ticketing service exclusive supplier integrates advanced ticketing services both in China and abroad. The Beijing Olympic Games required that the exclusive supplier had not only advanced technology, but also flexible and broad operational ability and professional staff," Yuan says.

Established in 1976, Ticketmaster operates in 20 global markets, providing ticket sales, ticket resale services, marketing and distribution through www.ticketmaster.com.

It has about 6,700 retail outlets and 20 worldwide call centers, serving more than 10,000 clients worldwide.