The Mighty Ticketmaster Keeps On Ticking (LYV)

Before going to a concert, who do you buy tickets from? Do you go directly to the venue and purchase them from the box office? Or do you go the simple route and search for tickets online?

If you choose the latter, chances are you wind up on Ticketmaster.com, the company everyone loves to hate. Service charges are the primary culprit, but consumers have also complained when the best seats appear to be taken before a show is even on sale.

Wired reports that when Ticketmaster merged with Live Nation (NYSE: LYV) – the largest concert promoter in the country – last winter, it gained control of acts like U2 and Jay-Z. Through Live Nation, Ticketmaster has also taken control of many of the amphitheaters in the US, including the Irvine Meadows/Verizon Amphitheater in California and the Nikon at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York.

As a result, Brock Jones, vice president of events at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena (home of the NHL's Predators and host to recent concerts by Paul McCartney and Justin Bieber), told Wired that he is weighing his options.

His contract with Ticketmaster is set to expire in June of next year, and while he thinks the company provides reliability, there are other options – such as Veritix and Tickets.com – that could give him the ability to sell tickets while collecting data on customers who attend events at Bridgestone.