In years past, independent ticketing companies were challenged when it came to handling big spikes in demand. And when phone sales ruled, only the largest ticketing companies had call centers big enough to handle the volume. But times have changed. Independent ticketers are now the technology leaders. And telephone demand has fallen off dramatically. Massive demand spikes are no longer a problem for the leading independents.

So that leaves marketing. For a minute, let’s assume that a massive email database and domain name recognition are as effective at moving tickets as some of the tools and techniques offered by leading indies. I don’t believe for one minute that’s true. But let’s pretend it is. The question becomes, are the email list and domain name worth it?
What if you had an extra couple of bucks per ticket to spend on marketing – without increasing the total cost to fans? Could you use that extra money to market your shows as effectively? My bet is that you could do a better job. All promotion is local, right?

First, consider those happy times you find yourself with a show that’s going to sell itself with no marketing? With a major, you – via your customers – have paid for that email list and domain name whether you need it or not; with the right indie, those unneeded marketing dollars can fall to your bottom line.

Or what if you could lower the total cost for fans, without it impacting your bottom line, and without it dulling your artist’s image? Maybe that cost difference is enough to move the bulk of your sales into the advance column, saving you from the whims of weather and everything else that can decimate your door sales.

Have you considered the good will that a smaller ticket fee can engender amongst your customers? YOUR customers. With most indies, you have unfettered access to your customer data. You can slice and dice and data mine and analyze and target like never before. This, after all, is what good promotion is all about. It’s not just placing bets on bands you think will sell. It’s about having an intimate knowledge of your audience so you can match them up with the right events and take some risk off the table. Sometimes it’s about having some powerful data to give you the confidence to pass on the “next big thing” that’s not right for your customers – or to recognize that you can fill the house for an emerging artist while you can still afford them.

The real promise of independent ticketing is that it puts more of your fate back in your hands. If you don’t want that control, and the responsibility that comes with it, go play craps. Go play roulette. Promoting shows wasn’t always just about assuming the risk. A promoter is a marketer, an entertainment broker. To be successful, you must know the product and the market better than anyone. And you must have the tools and authority to put that knowledge to work.

Monday we kicked off the morning a well-attended workshop entitled “SOLD OUT! How to Fill The House For Your Entertainment Events.” In the session, we shared best practices from our client base and insights gathered over our years of relentless innovation in the event marketing space. If you weren’t able to attend, check out the presentation below, and pass it on.

Sold Out! How to Fill The House For Your Live Entertainment Events

Trey Hoffman, Jeff Gale, and Bruce Ayers havin a blast at the Biscuit booth.

NIGA Day two winners Rick Brown and Julie Cleveland

THANKS INDIAN GAMING ATTENDEES AND EXHIBITORS! SEE YOU IN 2012!

First, Widespread Panic played a set at the BottleTree Café on Wednesday around 2 PM to a group of about 70 folks. The news “broke” on panicstream.com and verified by the BottleTree on their Facebook page.

Second, The Black Keys played a show to about 300 fans last night at Rogue Tavern. The Birmingham News reports that Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney played a 15 song set for about an hour, and of course, rocked as always.

The two acts were in town for the annual Coalition of Independent Music Stores Conference. Did you catch either show? What’s the coolest intimate gig you’ve ever seen?

The Black Keys perform at Rogue Tavern in Birmingham, Ala. on April 29, 2010. Photo Courtesy al.com.

Sell Tickets Online with TicketBiscuit!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123604492886515417.html

Wow. Spirit must have some Ticketmaster folks on its board.

This is effing hilarious, and a good example of why the air travel industry is in such dire straits. I assume that Spirit Airlines either has paid up front costs for their reservation system or pays an annual licensing fee, but I doubt the cost ties directly to usage volume. I further suppose that the costs incurred by having ticket counter agents and space at airports exceeds the costs of the online reservation system.

So the airline is, in effect, penalizing consumers for utilizing a more efficient means of transaction. WTF? I can follow (but not necessarily agree with) the thinking behind charging fees for checked baggage or in flight refreshments. These things drive up costs. But not online booking.

What if other industries followed suit? Fees for online banking? For booking hotels online? For using the drive thru at restaurants? For pumping your own gas?

The parallels to live entertainment are obvious. I have often wondered why so few promoters and venues choose to flip the common fee arrangement on its head. That is, charge fees for a box office (ticket counter) sale but offer incentives (no fees) to purchase online. We have a couple of clients who do business this way, and their online sales represent over 90% of their total ticket sales. Self Service is more efficient.
If customers and computers are doing the work, it frees up your resources to grow the business. Our system is one of the few ticketing systems out there with the flexibility to allow venues and promoters to set the fee structure that their customers see (completely independent of the per ticket fees we charge for providing ticketing services). In essence, it empowers businesses to encourage the self service option.

It’s time for more businesses to embrace a shifting paradigm. Encourage the efficient transaction and grow your business the right way, instead of taking the easy route and squeezing your customers who self serve.

Oh, and Spirit, if you guys want to REALLY grow revenues, you should try an online check-in fee, a boarding fee, or even a “seat bottom cushion flotation device” fee.

Geez.

Hello, this is Ticketmaster Customer Service with an important alert for your upcoming event. Frank Caliendo, scheduled at BJCC Concert Hall on Friday, October 24, 2008, at 8:00PM, has been cancelled.

Your credit card will automatically be credited the ticket price and convenience charges, and should post to your account within 7 to 10 business days.  Please note, the $3.20 per order processing fee and any ticketFast or UPS delivery charges are non-refundable.

If you have any questions, please contact us online at:

http://www.ticketmaster.com/h/asktm.html

Thank you for using Ticketmaster.  We appreciate your business!

I love the last line:  We appreciate your business!  What service did they provide me?  In my opinion, they just stole $3.20 from me and provided no service at all.  Glad to see I’ll get my money back so quickly as well (note the sarcasm). 

I know this isn’t news to many of you and I’m sorry you have to put up with it.  There is something you can do about it.  Stop going to events where Ticketmaster is the ticketing vendor and encourage your favorite venues, promoters, and artists to sign up with the Biscuit.

Only the fight didn’t happen. Hours before the fight Shamrock apparently suffered a cut and was not allowed to fight. his last minute replacement was a previously relatively unknown fighter named Seth Petruzelli.

Petruzeilli knocked him out in 14 seconds. Kimbo was supposed to be the best thing for MMA since, well, (forgive the pun here) sliced bread, but he suffered an embarrassing beatdown at the hands of a no-name. And now, there are allegations that the fight was supposed to be fixed. But before I get there, why don’t you watch the fight in it’s entirety? Seriously, it will only take 14 seconds. Go ahead.

Okay so Seth delivers a beatdown. But Seth isn’t used to the limelight. So naturally, when everyone and their mother wants to talk to the guy who beat Kimbo, our boy Seth tells too much:

“They didn’t want me to take him down, let’s just put it that way. It was worth my while to try to stand up and punch with him.”

Ouch. You can read the whole article here if you are interested, but this could be big trouble for ProElite. We’ll keep you posted. One of the great things about MMA is that to this point it has been about combat, performance, preparation, skill. this kind of shenanigan would put a black eye on the sport, but it would be nothing new. I mean, there have been empires (*cough cough WWE*) built on this type of tom-foolery. The BattlePass team will actually get to meet ProElite head of Operations Jeremy Lappen at Fight Promoter University V in November, so I’m anxious to get his take on this whole matter (away from what says to the media).

On a side note, I am now a HUGE fan of Gina Carano. Wowza.

*swoon*

It’s been a while since we talked about BattlePass, our first product line extension in the history of the company. BattlePass is doing extremely well, with new MMA Promoter clients being added daily. We launched a myspace page shortly after we released the product, and quickly made “friends” with Dana White (head of UFC), Chuck Liddell, and many other icons of the sport.

Check out our myspace page by clicking here

Speaking of Liddell, did anyone see the fight this weekend?

ouch.

Give it a try and let us know what you think.  Post your comments here or send us feedback at support@ticketbiscuit.com.  As always, thanks for using The Biscuit!

• Katrina was the most damaging hurricane on record
• Hurricanes lose energy over land, but pick up steam (almost literally) over hot water, and
• Hurricanes make gas prices go up.

BUT- there are many things you DON’T know about hurricanes. For example, did you know that this Gustav is actually the fifth tropical cyclone to share that name? Look it up. 

Find out what else you don’t know about hurricanes – check out the quiz hosted by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. You just might learn something.

Speaking of learning something- we occasionally post ticket selling tips on this blog, like last week’s post on event aggregator sites. We’re interested in your thoughts on these tips. Are they helpful? Do you have tips to share? Let us know.