After springing up by chance, or out of necessity, during spring's COVID-19 lockdowns, livestream concerts have since managed to carve out a niche in the cultural calendar. In fact, livestream shows are now a flourishing business, that music industry giants like Ticketmaster count on cashing in on.
And so Ticketmaster, has announced the global launch of a new service specially dedicated to selling tickets for livestream shows. The platform, which operates in 10 languages, has apparently already sold tickets for virtual events to fans in more than 180 countries. Many turned to the Live Nation company's ticketing site to get tickets for Niall Horan's latest virtual show, streamed live from the Royal Albert Hall in London in November. The virtual show proved a hit for the former One Direction member, with ticket sales topping 125,000.
According to Ticketmaster, artists such as RBD, Megan Thee Stallion, Mika, Glass Animals, Biffy Clyro and Dermot Kennedy experienced similar success recently with shows streamed online. "Our technology quickly pivoted to selling streaming tickets at scale, and the acceleration in artists going virtual to engage has been remarkable, so too is the readiness of fans to pay to access their favourite artists in this way," explained David Marcus, now EVP of Global Music, heading the Global Music Team working on the ticketing platform.
"The beauty of virtual shows is that we're seeing global viewing—performances in London or LA are selling tickets to fans in New Zealand, Spain or Singapore, it's revolutionizing the way artists can connect. Nothing will replace the live experience, but this represents a new form of entertainment with its own rewards, and it's definitely something that will remain for years to come," he continues.
