Re: Outbox

Bob,  how can you get it so wrong?  Outbox technology is open and, therefore, more easily adaptable to new methods (mobile apps, up-selling, shopping carts, etc.) of interacting with the consumer than TM’s somewhat archaic infrastructure.  Having used TM for many years for the sale of millions of our tickets, AEG Live is not an unhappy customer, so I am not here to "bash" a competitor.  When DOJ approved the merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation, it was through a consent decree in which AEG was "encouraged" to go its own way to create competition in the sector.  Instead of licensing TM’s software as our "white label" solution, we decided after a great deal on due diligence and research, to become a partner and customer of Outbox Enterprises, Llc. Outbox has done an outstanding job for both the Cirque du Soleil properties and the Bell Centre in Montreal. Jean-Francoys Brousseau served as TM’s Chief Technology Officer for many years and Fred Rosen built TM’s dominance in this space over 20 years as its visionary leader, so the Co-CEOs of Outbox were excellent choices for AEG to join forces with.

As far as your premise about there needing to be one "uber-site" to sell tickets, that sounds a bit anachronistic to me.  The venues who have the ultimate responsibility to the consumer when it comes to protection from fraud, the refunding of money from cancelled shows, and their safety when they enter their facility would be the likely place to go to buy tickets for a sporting event, family show, or concert, especially since the majority of tickets are purchased locally.  Another logical site for the purchase of concert tickets would be the artist’s dot com address (URL) since that database is, obviously, the most targeted from a marketing perspective and they are uniquely positioned to offer a plethora of "experiences" to their fans on a premium, value-added basis. The bottom line is that the majority of tickets are sold within a 50 mile radius surrounding the venue and a technologically advanced and flexible "white label" solution feels like the future to me, whereas a centralized "server" type of ticketing system seems like the past.

With respect to "all-in pricing", I fully subscribe to the premise as long as it is truly transparent and lists the actual face value that the artist is charging first, followed by surcharges, venue fees, etc., and the total in bold print.  This is not currently the case with Live Nation shows or the tools that Ticketmaster has provided its promoter/venue customers.  I am told that this will change with new programming upgrades at TM and I take them at their word.  To date, however, "all-in pricing" has not resulted in less expensive tickets. My gut tells me that competition in the sale of tickets will.

As far as the "health" of the concert industry itself, whether Live Nation, AEG Live, or the independent promoters across the world, who now have a lifeline for the sale of tickets to their shows, I will leave you with something I have come to understand after 9 years at the helm of AEG Live:  "There are no bad tours, just bad deals."

Randy Phillips
President & CEO
AEG Live

Amazing that AEG can put out a huge press release about Outbox and there is not a single clickable (or even non-clickable) URL pointing to the Outbox site.  Even if the thing isn’t live yet, they oughta have a landing page, sheesh.

Googling the word "outbox" gets one nowhere.  The domain outbox.com gets one nowhere.  Took me a min to try http://www.outboxtechnology.com/ (great domain name, there), okay here’s something.  So they are live. Okay. Oh. Wait. Flash.

Brilliant, a commercial homepage in 2011 entirely done in Flash.

Brian Dear