Jim Carrollon music
THE concert ticket business is to heat up in 2009 with the arrival of major competition for the current leader of the pack, Ticketmaster.
The bad news for Ticketmaster is that their new rival is someone they know very well, because that company just happens to be one of their biggest clients: Live Nation.
Plans by the global concert giant, which manage the new 02 in Dublin, to roll out their own ticket-selling service early next year in the United States are progressing rapidly.
This follows the end of the company's 10-year exclusive contract with Ticketmaster and the failure to negotiate a new one. Live Nation events accounted for 17 per cent of Ticketmaster's 141 million ticket sales in 2007.
The company will be moving into direct ticket selling for their events via the livenation.com website, with German ticket company CTS Eventim AG providing the necessary infrastructure and technology.
Besides selling tickets for their own events, Live Nation will also be seeking to poach clients from Ticketmaster to bolster the user base for their new service. Venue operator SMG, which manages the Odyssey in Belfast, has already signed up have many of their US event tickets hawked by Live Nation.
It is believed that Live Nation will roll out this service in other markets as current contracts with ticket sellers such as Ticketmaster come to an end. Europen territories such as Ireland are seen as lucrative targets.
However, it is unlikely that this new competition will see lower booking fees or cheaper tickets for consumers.
Aside from controlling ticket sales for their own events and building up a huge customer database, Live Nation will also be hoping that the move increases turnover on their balance-sheet.
The company are therefore unlikely to turn down a honeypot of easy dough in the shape of handling and transaction fees.
After all, Ticketmaster have done all the heavy lifting to make these fees part of the ticket-buying process and took all the flak from the public in the process.
Belfast continues to rock
WHILE the Belfast Festival at Queen's University runs until the end of the month, the festival action in the Northern capital also extends into November with the A Little Solidarity music festival providing a snapshot of the vibrant new band scene in Northern Ireland.
From November 13th to 15th, Fighting With Wire, General Fiasco, And So I Watch You From Afar, Panama Kings and others will play at various venues.
There will also be a photo exhibition from Graham Smith and various industry panels. More information at myspace.com/ andsoiwatchyoufromafar
And that's not all. Tomorrow sees Foy Vance, Bronagh Gallagher, the Inishowen Gospel Choir and others take part in Urban Hymns at the May Street church in the city.
More info at www.ohyeahbelfast.com
Blunt news
WHILE the professionals may argue otherwise, it would seem that any eejit can edit a newspaper section. Proof of this comes with the news that James Blunt is set to edit part of daily giveaway tabloid Metroon November 17th.
"I am looking forward to raising the profile of subjects close to my heart and hopefully have a little fun along the way," commented Blunt.
It could have been worse. Blunt might have decided to give away one of his CDs with the paper.
ETC
• Gemma Hayes heads out on the road soon, calling to Belfast (Nov 26), Mullingar (29), Limerick (30), Cork (Dec 1), Waterford (Nov 4), Dublin (6), Castlebar (7) and Galway (7)
• Currently on a US tour supporting Jason Mraz, Lisa Hannigan plays her biggest Irish headliner to date at Dublin's Vicar Street on December 13th.
• Coldcut's Jonathan More, Mixmaster Morris and this week's CD of the Week star R.S.A.G. combine for a show at Dublin's Andrew's Lane Theatre on December 12.
