Live Nation’s problem is not Outbox, but its crushing debt.\u00c2\u00a0 If Live Nation dies, it will be because it couldn’t find a way to be profitable, not because a competitor ate its lunch.<\/p>\n
Outbox is a white label solution.\u00c2\u00a0 Which allows venues to create their own ticketing system.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s a positively eighties solution, back before the Internet took hold.<\/p>\n
What do we know about the Internet?<\/p>\n
We go to one site, one company dominates in every sphere.<\/p>\n
Amazon in books.<\/p>\n
Apple in music.<\/p>\n
Facebook in social networking.<\/p>\n
Google in search.<\/p>\n
Let’s stay with Google, because it’s got a competitor, Bing, which is similar to AEG.\u00c2\u00a0 You see Microsoft’s got almost unlimited cash.\u00c2\u00a0 To the point where it can compete, gaining minimal market share and losing money.\u00c2\u00a0 No one else with a deep pocket is going into search, Google is just too good.\u00c2\u00a0 Ticketmaster’s too good.\u00c2\u00a0 A competitor is not necessary.\u00c2\u00a0 Technologically.<\/p>\n
But the truth of concert promotion is all the profits are in ticketing, so it’s an important area.\u00c2\u00a0 The deals you make, the splits are more important than the technology.\u00c2\u00a0 Ticketmaster works.\u00c2\u00a0 The public hates the fees.\u00c2\u00a0 But the only company moving towards all inclusive pricing is…Live Nation?\u00c2\u00a0 The same company that wants paperless?<\/p>\n
So hate on LN all you want, but they’re the ones that want change.<\/p>\n
But this is really about why Outbox is antiquated.<\/p>\n
We don’t want to go to a plethora of sites to buy our tickets, we want to go to one.\u00c2\u00a0 We don’t want to go to staplescenter.com to purchase ducats for a downtown show and hollywoodbowl.com for tickets to the outdoor show and santamonicacivic.org for shows by the beach.\u00c2\u00a0 We want to go to ONE site!<\/p>\n
They call it ticketmaster.com.<\/p>\n
Sure, you can use Google.\u00c2\u00a0 But then you end up buying tickets from a scalper, who’s gamed the search engine optimization system.<\/p>\n
So the concept of a white label system where each venue customizes its own site and does its own ticketing is a head-scratcher.<\/p>\n
But here’s where it really gets interesting.\u00c2\u00a0 Why is ticketmaster.com so lame?<\/p>\n
It hasn’t got the best interface and it’s not fast.\u00c2\u00a0 But the real problem is it only sells tickets.<\/p>\n
I’ve bought multiple television sets from Amazon.\u00c2\u00a0 The price is the cheapest, delivery is free and they set it up, what more could you ask for?\u00c2\u00a0 A no haggle, no hassle experience.<\/p>\n
And Amazon not only sells hardcover books, it sells electronic titles too, Amazon pioneered this market and still dominates.<\/p>\n
And iTunes is not only about music.\u00c2\u00a0 There are TV shows and movies and apps and free podcasts.<\/p>\n
And Facebook makes a profit not only on ads, but gaming.<\/p>\n
And ticketmaster.com sells tickets.<\/p>\n
Yes, the story isn’t AEG’s move with Fred Rosen’s Outbox, but the money Live Nation is leaving on the table.<\/p>\n
And the reason it’s leaving said money has something to do with the vision thing, or more specifically, the lack thereof.<\/p>\n
But it’s got even more to do with money.\u00c2\u00a0 Live Nation just hasn’t got any.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s firing people to make its numbers.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s a public company, with shareholders, needing to make a profit, whereas Phil Anschutz funds AEG.<\/p>\n
Ticketmaster.com should not only be selling t-shirts and tour booklets, but food coupons and virtual goods, and to create stickiness there should be a social networking component.<\/p>\n
But years after Michael Rapino started talking about the future, it’s yet to arrive.<\/p>\n
And the old roadblock of acts and labels saying no, not granting rights, is gone.\u00c2\u00a0 So many acts don’t even have record labels anymore.\u00c2\u00a0 But even more important, Live Nation is in business with so many acts, through its ownership\/relationship with Irving Azoff’s Frontline.<\/p>\n
No one’s going to kill Live Nation.\u00c2\u00a0 If it dies, it kills itself.<\/p>\n
Live Nation has the best opportunity to triumph in the future, it’s got the most assets, the best starting point, why can’t it run with the ball?<\/p>\n
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