Fans Didn't Think Taylor Swift's On-Sale Went Swiftly!
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Hi!
Thanks for being here.
Updates from my NPS survey:
NPS Score: 43. That’s pretty strong. Down from 54 in 2020 the last time I ran this.
Y’all love the consistency, the data, and the challenges to your preconceived notions.
You’d like more pictures, graphics, and scannable stuff. Too text-heavy sometimes. I get that. I’m working on it.
I’ll keep refining it.
Due to the feedback, I’m going to roll out a few new ideas for ways folks can work with me, especially in smaller markets including some free and fee webinars, small group coaching sessions, and mastermind groups.
Thanks for the feedback.
To the Tickets!
I. Ticketmaster’s Taylor Swift on-sale draws attention:
Another big on-sale and fans are not happy.
What you need to know: Ticketmaster claimed “unprecedented” demand. But the “Verified Fan” pre-sale and 57 shows going on-sale at once would have seemed like a good indication that there was going to be significant demand.
The way I see it: I’ve been paying attention to the anti-competitive nature of the American ticket market for a while now.
This moment seems to capture a lot of the worst of the American system in one tour:
Technology issues
Escalating costs
BOTS jamming the system
Speculation on the secondary market
Fans feeling left out
The drumbeat of congressional leaders calling for investigations of the merger between Live Nation and Ticketmaster grows with comments from Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bill Pascarell, among many others.
Why this matters: Concerns about revisiting the 2010 merger between Live Nation and Ticketmaster are becoming more frequent.
In the recent antitrust panel on tickets at the US Capitol, there were allegations of wrongdoing, behaviors that were against the consent decree, and anti-competitive behavior.
The noise around this issue continues to grow.
Having a monopoly isn’t illegal. Engaging in anti-competitive behavior is.
Looking at markets around the world that have allocation systems and more competition, it becomes hard to say that the American market wouldn’t benefit from some additional competition.
P.S. There’s been more here since tickets started going on-sale. I’m busy…I can’t keep up. Taylor Swift’s demand is great. The technology still should have been able to handle the traffic.
II. Lesson: The first goal of branding is to get noticed.
My picture is silly.
This picture is designed to make your remember me.
Does the silliness matter?
Yes. Because it helps you remember me because I’m poking fun at myself.
If you do, I win.
Why?
In a world overrun with tweets, messages, ads, billboards, podcasts, and more…you need your brand to come to mind during the purchase moment.
I use other tricks of the brand management trade like:
I pick an enemy. In action: I take on the idea that $6 tickets are going to help you build a crowd for your college football games.
Make hyperbolic statements. Check. Look at my last conversation with Eric Fuller on his podcast.
Get outrageous press!? The BBC called me, “The King of Tickets” on-air.
The big idea: Every organization needs to raise its brand awareness.
Do you come to mind in the buying situation?
Awareness is an active pursuit.
Being well-known is great.
Being well-known when someone is thinking about making a purchase in your category…priceless.
Examples:
The Festival Ballet Providence did a parking lot performance during COVID lockdowns to keep the company in people’s minds.
Lady Gaga wore a meat dress.
The Tonys. The Oscars. The Grammys.
The Cincinnati Reds have an Opening Day parade.
The only thing stopping you are budget and imagination.
Mostly imagination.
Here’s a freebie: “The Million Dollar Ticket” for a festival I was working on. When COVID got in the way, we didn’t get to use the idea though…
III. Numbers that caught my eye this week:
My most popular presentation is my 10 numbers for the year ahead.
I’m putting together that for 2023 now.
Here are some numbers I’ve noticed as I’ve been going along with a bit of context.
$220,000: the price someone paid for a pair of Birkenstock’s worn by Steve Jobs. This highlights the reality that ultra-net-worth people are getting richer and will spend money on anything. There were 218,000 of them in 2021.
6,500: the number of workers that died building stadiums for the 2022 World Cup. This matters because we keep seeing stories about Qatar’s human rights abuses in a way we didn’t when the World Cup was in Russia in 2018.
13M: number of fewer fans who have attended MLB games since 2007. That’s 13M down in 15 years. This matters because I saw a fitted hat at $60 the other day and I had to wonder how much of an impact these prices are having on people’s attendance.
15%: the amount American credit card debt jumped in the 3rd quarter. The fastest rate in 15 years. This points to Americans having burned through their lockdown-era savings.
$1 Billion: Amount that Broadway sales were down from the 2018-2019 season. This shows the challenge still in front of the Broadway community to get the industry back on track from the lockdowns.
1325: 7-day average of COVID deaths globally. This is down from the peak, but it is a reminder of the reality that COVID is still impacting people and could create a flair-up at any time. Even if there aren’t government interventions, consumer confidence could quickly fall.
126 M: Predicted number of new jobs in international travel in the next 10 years. This shows that the power of travel is immense and there will be ways to get people together.
IV. Buying and selling have changed:
I have had this conversation about six times this fall.
Your sales team has to keep up with the changing nature of modern buyers.
Main Idea: Buyers have changed.
What does this mean for people in tickets?
You’ll need to make sure your sales strategy is changing as well.
I’ve been talking about the strategic seller since around 2016.
Why?
Because your job isn’t just selling, but solution creation.
Solutions aren’t just for you, they are for the customer.
Go back to my conversation with Ruth Hartt about “Jobs to Be Done” theory. (Maybe the most useful podcast I’ve done for translating ideas to action.)
What job are you doing?
What need are you a solution for?
How are you helping add value?
What to Do? Some bullets:
Begin at the beginning. Do you really know what the market looks like right now?
Who is your customer, really?
Why are you? What is your point of relative differentiation?
Do you know the alternatives in your market? (Don’t BS me and say you know all the competition because you don’t. It isn’t about competition but alternative solutions.)
How can you add value immediately? (Insights? Case studies? Ideas? What?) (Remember, value is in the eye of the buyer. And, sometimes…the only value is providing a ticket to something. That’s a commodity and you don’t have to stick with being a commodity, but it happens.)
V. Links:
Live Nation supports the Biden administration's effort to eliminate “junk fees”:
👀
Dolly Parton retires from touring:
A real American treasure.
Let’s hope Dolly and her husband have an excellent time in semi-retirement. Also, I’d have totally gone if she had gone on a farewell tour.
Professor Mariana Mazzucato explains inflation:
If you and your audience are getting squeezed, check out this video.
Professor Mazzucato’s explanation of the 3 drivers of inflation is worth the 3 minutes.
Bruce Springsteen talks to Howard Stern:
I wouldn’t have known without reading the Lefsetz Letter. I don’t read all of Bob’s stuff but this one stuck with me because it seems to express how I feel about music, sports, and events.
Here’s a link to Bruce doing “Thunder Road” during the interview.
Rolling Stone looks at the NYS law for all-in pricing:
All-in pricing should be straightforward. Knowing the face value of resale tickets is not as simple.
In my FT secondary market days, knowing the face value of a ticket was often a hit-or-miss proposition. The complexity is worse now.
The enforcement here likely depends on showing a “good faith” effort not to deceive customers.
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Customers are buying refund protection at rates 2x higher than before the pandemic.
Offering your customers refund protection:
Gives customers certainty in their purchase.
Gives you a new revenue stream.
Improves your customer service.
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