The Business of Music 26.10.12 £5.15
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dummy_cover template 19/10/2012 15:22 Page 1 43 9776669776136 THE BUSINESS OF MUSIC www.musicweek.com 26.10.12 £5.15 Project1_Layout 1 22/10/2012 12:08 Page 1 CoverV3_cover template 23/10/2012 18:12 Page 1 43 9776669776136 THE BUSINESS OF MUSIC www.musicweek.com 26.10.12 £5.15 NEWS BIGINTERVIEW OPINION 02 11 15 Xbox shows off its new music Alfie Boe looks back over his Does the Live Music Act go service as it launches against career – and chats about his far enough for larger venues, Spotify and iTunes new album of pop classics asks the O2’s Rebecca Kane AEG: OUR NEW TICKETMASTER RIVAL CAN BLOCK BROKERS • THIRD-PARTY VENUES APPROACHED No tout about it TICKETING that time, we can determine I BY TIM INGHAM whether you’re a human or a machine. Seats are sold front-to- EG is set to freeze out back unlike Ticketmaster or online touts from new other systems that have the ‘big A‘fan-friendly’ UK bang’ - where brokers swoop in ticketing service AXS.com. and lock up half the house.” The digital platform launched When asked if AEG was earlier this week for events at the considering deliberately blocking AEG-owned O2 Arena in certain types of ticket buyer from London, including Girls Aloud future transactions, Perez said: (pictured) reunion shows in 2013. “Yes. We have security measures A Waiting Room feature that allow us to more effectively Xxxx: Xxxxx already gives customers a half- identify spurious multiple hour window in which to enter requests from individual fan payment details and register requests. Nothing is foolproof, interest before tickets go on sale - but we know it’s effective.” giving them a random place in President and CEO of AEG AXS.com’s digital ‘queue’. Europe Jay Marciano claimed A soon-to-be-added lottery that AXS.com’s ability to show feature, dubbed ‘Fair AXS’, also statistical pre-sale interest in an promises to prevent brokers from event offered promoters much mass-buying tickets in order to more control over risky decisions sell them at a premium on re-sale such as whether to add dates. sites. Launching in the New Year, “We’ll also be having Fair AXS will let fans submit conversations with third-party ticket requests when events are UK venues about becoming their announced, which will then be ‘FAN FRIENDLY’ BUT IS AXS.COM ANY CHEAPER? vendor of choice,” added Perez. entered into a random draw. When asked if AEG was MUCH HAS BEEN MADE in the a single Nas ticket would cost Ticketmaster charges for print at “Online brokers currently have keen to buy more new venues in national press in the past week £7.30 in additional fees from home ticketing aren’t unilaterally an unfair advantage because over additional fees that Ticketmaster and £7.50 via AXS. set. Our venues take a share of the UK - adding to its flagship ticketing is antiquated - it hasn’t Ticketmaster charges punters for Meanwhile, three tickets to Hit them as part of our commercial O2 Arena ownership - changed in 30 years,” AEG printing tickets at home - whilst Factory Live at The O2 in December deal with each building.” Marciano said: “Even without president of digital, ticketing and AXS.com does not. would incur £23.50 in additional The additional Ticketmaster fee AXS.com we’d be tempted to media Bryan Perez told Music In truth, the difference in fees from Ticketmaster and is believed to be attributed to own more. We’ve made a lot of Week. “A starting gun goes off overall ticket price between the £25.95 via AXS - whilst a single access control costs which the investment in bricks and mortar and, while the average punter is two platforms remains negligible. ticket would cost slightly less at vendor insists is adopted by each and in content. The missing sitting there hitting refresh, Indeed, the purchase of three AXS (£8.65) than its rival (£10). of its partner venues. ingredient has been the ticketing. you’ve got a tout with servers tickets to Nas’s O2 arena show in “The reality is I’m not sure that “You could argue there’s a high “But [The O2] has been tied March next year would cost many fans are too concerned [by level of transparency around coming out of Russia throwing up in long-term contracts with £16.90 in additional fees via the home printing cost],” Ticketmaster’s pricing on this in 1,000 requests a second. Ticketmaster compared to Ticketmaster MD Chris Edmonds issue – whilst if you buy another Ticketmaster that have now “Our Waiting Room allows £22.50 via AXS – with the latter told Music Week. “The issue that product, it’s wrapped into elapsed. It’s time for us to own people to come in 30 minutes charging a greater service fee of hasn’t been picked up is that, the standard service pricing,” the customer relationship. Now before the on-sale and secure a £6.50 per ticket. The purchase of ultimately, the fees that added Edmonds. we have this data, it gives us the random place in line. During confidence to keep growing.” 02-03 NEWS V5_News and Playlists 23/10/2012 18:22 Page 2 2 Music Week 26.10.12 www.musicweek.com NEWS EDITORIAL MICROSOFT MAKES WAVES IN DIGITAL MUSIC SPHERE Spotify plus iTunes plus AXS to finance for UK venues Pandora = Xbox Music? DIGITAL and promoters I BY TOM PAKINKIS AEG’S INTRODUCTION OF AXS.com to its UK family has obviously icrosoft has taken a been timed to fall just as the exclusive contract between giant step into the Ticketmaster and the O2 Arena comes to a rather predictable end. M world of digital music, Yet for all AEG’s headline-rattling talk of free domestic ticket launching a brand new service printing, the real jewel in its crown has very little to do with price: that it says combines the as explained on today’s cover, the difference in buying an O2 event functionality of Spotify, iTunes, from Ticketmaster and AXS remains nothing to write home about. and Pandora. There is some irony in the fact that TM’s extra charges for Using the tech giant’s video home printing look completely inexplicable… on paper. It is games brand, Xbox Music songs, while an ‘Xbox Music Pass’ Bhardwaj says is similar to exactly this outrage-inducing elementary impression that led launches today (October 26) pre- will allow offline access to music Pandora in that it cross- consumer group Which? to publicly castigate the Live Nation- loaded onto Microsoft’s latest for ad-free, unlimited playback of references a user’s music library affiliated company last week. But with a little further reasoning - operating system Windows 8 and any track from a subscription to find similar artists. essentially, the fee goes towards investment in security and fraud its games console entertainment catalogue for £8.99 a month. “For us the visual element is prevention at each venue - the move comes across as far less hub Xbox Live, which boasts Meanwhile, the Xbox Music very important, and that’s based avaristic. Although TM might do well to make that clearer to fans more than 40 million users. Store is “the iTunes equivalent” on speaking to labels and during check-out. The new music service element - which provides an consumers who say that MP3s combines ad-based, subscription- MP3 marketplace where users can lose their appeal,” he added. “Ticketmaster’s ‘print at home’ fees don’t actually free streaming, ad-free can purchase single tracks or “Back in the day you had subscription streaming and a albums to own. nice vinyl and CD covers - the seem to affect overall ticket prices versus AXS.com - download-to-own service “The key thing about [Xbox image was as important and it’s but AEG’s technology is undeniably impressive.” alongside discovery mechanism Music] is that it does everything,” kind of gotten lost. We want to ‘Smart DJ’. said Bhardwaj. “From Pandora to bring that back.” Putting quibbles over additional booking fees aside, the most “When you’re launching a iTunes to Spotify: it brings all The new service’s ‘Music Pass’ exciting element of AEG’s invasion into Ticketmaster’s UK new music service you really of those services together under can be used across five devices dominance is the company’s technology - and what it could mean want to get it right,” said Xbox one brand and one service, which and, thanks to the cloud, for partners across the business. Although it’s pitched as the ‘fan Live product manager Pav is something that none of the consumers can transition between friendly’ ticket service, AXS.com’s most valuable commodity may Bhardwaj. “We’re working with a others do... But Microsoft isn’t Xbox and Windows devices for a prove to have nothing to do with consumers. The site can lot of labels to make sure that we claiming to have reinvented the seamless music experience. generate deep B2B data on customer behaviour by encouraging give the best experience. wheel - some of our competitors “You can imagine: you’ve been purchasers to identify fellow gig-goers via Facebook or email - or “What we’ve done is look at are doing a really good job. We’re out and about listening to Xbox by ‘reserving’ tickets for named friends. Plus, live data regarding different services and what they putting it in one place and Music on your phone or tablet, pre-sale interest in events appears to be at AEG’s fingertips.