AEG Rolls Out Ticketmaster Competitor AXS
AEG, the entertainment giant, has announced they are launching their very own ticket selling service online called AXS (pronounced “Access”).
This means that AEG won’t be relying on Ticketmaster any longer, which is the dominant online ticket retailer that every year sells tickets by the hundreds of millions to event goers who are looking to avoid trips to a box office prior to the event.
Lisa Zedelmaier, a concert goer said, I don’t need to go anywhere. It’s so easy. I don’t need to drive anywhere. All I have to do is click my mouse to order and then print my tickets out.
Convenience does have its price though. For example, for a Taylor Swift $79 ticket at Staples Center there is an addition $12.50 convenience fee in addition to another $2.50 for using your own ink and printer to print your ticket out. AXS doesn’t charge fees for office or home printing or for emailing tickets.
The website axs.com is online already. Currently, however, if you try to purchase tickets you are transferred to Ticketmaster or some other ticket selling service online. On Saturday they will begin to roll out their ticket selling out in limited fashion. At first tickets will only be available for two Denver AEG theaters. Among the first performances to become available through axs will be from the group Social Distortion.
Tim Leiweke, AEG CEO and President said, creating the axs platform allows us to deliver an experience that is more complete for both our brand partners and consumers. He described the development as something that would move the company forward strategically.
Zedelmaier said, not having to pay a fee for the email for printing does appeal to her. However, unless she plans to leave Southern California, it’s going to be some time before she’ll be able to benefit from it. Axs won’t start processing LA Staples Center event tickets until next year year during the second quarter.
However many from the ticketing industry are expecting that Ticketmaster will soon be feeling pressure.
Donald Vaccaro, TicketNetwork CEO from the ticket resales online market based out of Connecticut said, consumers finally will have some type of competition that AEG provides to benefit from.
Ticketmaster didn’t comment on the AXS roll out announcement. However they have known this was coming for a long time. Ticketmaster last year, in order for their merger to be allowed with Live Nation Entertainment, was required to agree with conditions that the U.S. Justice Department imposed for fostering new competition. One requirement was that Ticketmaster had to make available their ticket processing software to AEG. However AEG did ultimately decide to use a system that was developed by Outbox Enterprises, a start up company from Canada. Other clients of theirs are Cirque du Soleil.
There are over 100 AEG venues worldwide. It is expected that their axs roll out will continue thought 2012. However Outbox is intending to woo other non-AEG theaters, stadiums and arenas, including ones that currently use Ticketmaster. One of the features that the Outbox software allows, is for the ticket purchaser to be able to have interactions with the website from a venue instead of being transferred in order to make their purchase. Outbox’s systems also has the ability to deliver online content. AEG is expecting to add that feature to axs eventually.
Ticketmaster is familiar with Fred Rose, the CEO of Outbox and man who challenged the status quo. During the early 1980s into the late 1990s, Ticketmaster overwhelmed their competition and dominated the ticketing industry online. The company at that time was run by Rosen. Now he is looking to dethrone Ticketmaster.