AXS (ticket merchant)

{Infobox company | name = AXS.com | logo AXS' (pronounced "access")[1] is a digital marketing platform for purchasing tickets for sports and entertainment events in the US, and overseas. It was developed and is operated by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) in partnership with Outbox Technologies.[1] The platform has introduced major social ticketing innovations.

Background

Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), valued at over 8 billion US dollars,[2] is the world's largest owner of sports teams and sports events and is also the world's second largest presenter of live music and entertainment events (after Live Nation Entertainment). Live Nation Entertainment was formed by the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, a ticket sale giant, in early 2010.[3] AEG had been licensing Ticketmaster’s software before the merger, and as part of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) conditions for approving the merger deal, AEG was allowed to continue licensing Ticketmaster’s software for up to five years while it established its own ticketing business.[3]

AEG partnered with Outbox Enterprises, a start up company, in which AEG is both an equity partner and a client, to develop AXS.[4] The initial AXS deployment was August 2011[1][5][6] and venues and services have been added in a phased roll out. As of August 2013, AXS was the exclusive or the primary ticket provider for over 30 US venues and 9 UK venues. The first Staples Center concert available only through AXS was Beyoncé in 2013; both Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers are still using Ticketmaster.[7] The white label technology Outbox developed enables AEG to sell tickets under either the AXS brand name or under local venue name brands, which have considerable local support, while providing centralized CRM services for either approach.[3]

In January 2014, AEG announced that AXS had purchased Examiner.com, a user generated news site, in order to leverage the site's entertainment content.[8]

Innovations

Fair AXS

AXS aims to block large volume, automated purchases by computer programs used by ticket resalers by using a "waiting room" facility on a separate server.[5] Users log their personal details and purchase information prior to tickets going on sale, and are screened for multiple purchases.[5][7] The server has passed stress testing by 1 million users, so the site should not crash.[5][9]

AXS Invite

AXS selectively offers an add-on feature, AXS Invite, which lets ticket purchasers reserve adjacent seats for friends, who have up to 48 hours to decide on receiving email or social media notification.[10] Invite is not available when tickets are initially sold, is only available at some venues, and is unlikely to help at oversubscribed shows.[10] AXS acknowledges that the feature is "really about finding a way to sell more tickets", while enhancing customer convenience.[10]

Partnerships

Carbonhouse

Carbonhouse, a website developer with over 100 clients, was acquired by AEG.[11] This will allow integration of additional features into the AXS ticketing platform.[11]

Stubhub

AEG has entered a partnership with StubHub, a secondary ticketing service owned by eBay, to place tickets from StubHub in AXS ticket listings.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ben Sisario (August 22, 2011). "Ticketmaster Competitor to Unveil a Web Site". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-12-17.
  2. ↑ Ozanian, Mike. "Value Of AEG Disclosed To Be At Least $8 Billion". Forbes. Retrieved 2013-11-18.
  3. 1 2 3 "AEG Enters Competition with Live Nation Ticketmaster". Reuters. 2011-08-23. Retrieved 2013-11-18.
  4. ↑ Alex Pham, Los Angeles Times (2011-08-24). "Outbox poised to challenge Ticketmaster through deal with AEG - Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2013-11-18.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Todd Martens (2013-02-05). "Can AEG's AXS change the way tickets are sold? - Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2013-11-18.
  6. ↑ "AEG launches digital marketing effort for axs.com". TicketNews. 2011-11-15. Retrieved 2013-11-18.
  7. 1 2 Martens, Todd; Lowery, Wesley (2013-02-04). "AEG moves to battle Ticketmaster head on - Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2013-11-18.
  8. ↑ "Examiner.com Acquired by AXS". AEG Worldwide. 23 January 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  9. ↑ Mark Sweney and Ellis Schindler. "AEG takes on Ticketmaster with new 'fan-friendly' online booking service | Media". theguardian.com. Retrieved 2013-11-18.
  10. 1 2 3 "AEG's AXS Invite Will Allow You To Reserve An Adjacent Seat For A Friend". Huffingtonpost.com. 2012-10-12. Retrieved 2013-11-18.
  11. 1 2 Brooks, Dave (2013-02-04). "AEG Acquires Carbonhouse". Venues Today. Retrieved 2013-11-18.
  12. ↑ "AEG, StubHub Partnership Brings Benefits Far Beyond Secondary Ticketing". Billboard. 2012-11-12. Retrieved 2013-11-18.
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