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AI Poised to Reshape Ticket Sales
18 Apr
Summary
- AI may enable venues to better predict consumer willingness to pay.
- Artificial intelligence could significantly reduce the resale market for tickets.
- Consumer choice may be enhanced by allowing multiple ticket sellers.
A jury recently found Live Nation guilty of monopolistic practices, sparking discussions about potential structural changes, including the divestiture of Ticketmaster. However, artificial intelligence is poised to transform consumer interactions with ticket sellers, potentially rendering court decisions less impactful.
The current ticket market features a significant resale component, with original tickets often priced low to encourage a secondary market. Theories suggest this strategy aims to shift demand risk, generate buzz through high resale prices, or satisfy fan expectations of late availability.
AI offers venues the ability to improve price discrimination, charging individuals based on their willingness to pay. This could diminish the resale market as venues capture potential reseller profits by adjusting initial prices. While this path carries risks, such as losing publicity from high resale prices, increased upfront profits might compensate.
For consumers, AI could aid in finding deals on the resale market, though this benefit may shrink as the resale market itself declines due to seller-side AI implementation. A more impactful solution for consumers might involve allowing ticket sales through multiple outlets, akin to airline ticketing, which could reduce fees and price discrimination.
While breaking up Live Nation might offer minor benefits like smoother websites, enhancing consumer choice through a more open ticketing environment appears to be the most significant way to benefit fans. This approach could lead to more competitive pricing and ticketing options.
