1/ A few thoughts on TicketMaster and @taylorswift13.
2/ I co-founded and ran @songkick for 8 years. Songkick was founded in 2007 to create a better fan and artist experience around live music. We were backed by YC, Sequoia etc
3/ Songkick sued TicketMaster in 2015 for abuse of market power. nytimes.com/2015/12/23/bus…
4/ In the end, the case was settled out of court, 2 weeks before trial for $130m. nytimes.com/2018/01/12/bus…. TicketMaster was required to pay a $10m criminal fine for intrusions into Songkick’s computer systems. justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/t…
5/ Songkick was an innovator. 10 million+ fans visited Songkick each month to discover concerts and get personalised concert listings based on the music they listened to.
6/ in early 2015 we did a 50:50 merger with CrowdSurge, a leading start-up helping artists sell tickets directly to fans. Some of CrowdSurge’s customers included @arcadefire, @childishgambino, @Muse and @PaulMcCartney.
7/ After the merger, we launched a new product that combined the capabilities of both start-ups. It was a tool that allowed artists to actively allocate tickets to their most active fans and block scalpers during the onsale.
8/ We launched it alongside @Adele's 2015 global tour - this was the biggest tour of the decade - comparable to Taylor Swift’s most recent onsale. The results were stunning.
9/ Songkick’s technology reduced the number of tickets available to scalpers - only 2% made it into the hands of scalpers compared to e.g 20% for other comparable tours. musically.com/2016/12/23/son… musically.com/2015/12/02/des…
10/ This was a MASSIVE breakthrough and we were excited to start scaling it alongside other iconic artists. Adele was able to get TicketMaster to change their rules and get much higher ticket allocations to sell directly. Others were excited to follow her lead.
11/ Ultimately this was a product that would have radically changed the concert industry - it showed how artists and fans could come together for a better ticketing experience and it was launched as part of the largest tour of the decade.
12/ That wasn't what happened, instead Songkick was forced onto the defence and sued LiveNation/TicketMaster for abuse of market power. Original complaint online here: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
13/ The final $130m settlement was a big outcome for a start-up taking on a monopolist. Until that date, no private plaintiff has ever been able to proceed past summary judgment against Ticketmaster on any antitrust claim, let alone up to the eve of trial quinnemanuel.com/the-firm/our-n…
14/ However for me, it felt like a huge failure. We weren't able to change the industry for the better, which is what every startup founder really cares about.
15/ As part of the settlement, the IP around this technology was acquired by TicketMaster. It endures as a ‘TicketMaster verified fan’ programme, but it feels like we would have a healthier concert industry if Songkick had been able to compete and scale this up independently.
16/ We saved the concert discovery service by selling it to Warner Music Group (where it continues to be used by millions of fans), but it was a stark lesson in how important active antitrust regulation is if you want innovation in a market.
17/ I believe the LiveNation / TicketMaster merger of 2010 was fundamentally bad for innovation in the concert industry. It allowed the largest concert promoter to combine with the largest primary ticket company. nytimes.com/2010/04/25/bus…
18/ Within a few years LN/TM was also the largest festival promoter in the world, the largest artist management company (themusicnetwork.com/guy-oseary-for……) and one of the largest secondary ticketing companies after being allowed to acquire Get Me In! and Seatwave.
19/ It is challenging to innovate in a market with this concentration of power. The only major new players in this space over the last decade are in the secondary ticketing market (Seatgeek, Viagogo), which usually ends up increasing the price of tickets. theguardian.com/money/2018/may…
20/ I am cautiously hopeful things may change, given the commitment of the Biden administration to stronger antitrust enforcement and leadership that includes Tim Wu (@superwuster), Lina Khan (@linakhanFTC), Jonathan Kanter (@JusticeATR), @amyklobuchar, @AOC and @matthewstoller
21/ shout out all the Songkickers past and present, we gave it our best shot.
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