Ticketmaster Announces Majority Investment in Echomusic
W. HOLLYWOOD, Calif. and NASHVILLE, Tenn., March 19 /PRNewswire/ — Ticketmaster, the world’s leading ticketing company and an operating business of IAC , is acquiring a significant stake in echomusic, — the online fan club and brand management company, whose unique blend of philosophy, methodology, and technology builds trusted one to one relationships with consumers for clients such as Kelly Clarkson, Rascal Flatts, Dierks Bentley and Keith Urban.
Ticketmaster and echomusic will leverage their diverse resources to build brand awareness, increase fan memberships and drive ticket sales for their respective clients. The companies will integrate select technologies and resources to provide a closer connection for the consumer with their favorite entertainers, athletes and brands. Jointly the companies will look to enhance their relationship with iLike and IAC properties such as Ask.com and Citysearch to create new channels for music discovery and distribution.
“By integrating echo’s innovative technology with Ticketmaster’s distribution network we present an extremely compelling marketing and sales platform for the music industry as well as all of live entertainment,” said Sean Moriarty, Ticketmaster’s President and CEO. “We are excited to join forces with echomusic, which is the most comprehensive platform we have found to enable relevant and deep relationships between fans and their favorite artists, athletes, teams, and venues.”
“Leveraging the ticketing system and strong industry network of Ticketmaster with the innovative platform and consumer insights of echo will help us define the next marketing and branding model for the entertainment industry,” said Mark Montgomery, CEO of echomusic. “Ticketmaster’s investment, as well as 30-plus years of live entertainment expertise and the access to IAC brands create almost limitless opportunities for our clients and echo.”
Moriarty added, “Mark is a talented entrepreneur with real passion and vision and we are thrilled to have him lead the echo team and welcome him to the Ticketmaster and IAC family. Echomusic has been building their operation to serve fans and artists for the past seven years on the entertainment industry’s ‘third coast’ in Nashville, Tennessee.”
Through the agreement with echomusic, Ticketmaster has the unique ability to offer its venue, sports team, and promoter clients enhanced branding, marketing and street team services. Future announcements regarding enhanced services and echomusic’s staff expansion will follow in the coming weeks as integration plans are finalized between Ticketmaster and echomusic.
About Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster is the world’s leading ticketing company, operating in 20 global markets, providing ticket sales, ticket resale services, marketing and distribution through http://www.ticketmaster.com/, one of the largest e-commerce sites on the Internet; approximately 6,500 retail outlets; and 20 worldwide call centers. Ticketmaster celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2006 and currently serves more than 9,000 clients worldwide across multiple event categories, providing exclusive ticketing services for hundreds of leading arenas, stadiums, performing arts venues, museums, and theaters. In 2006, the company sold more than 128 million tickets valued at over $7 billion on behalf of its clients. Ticketmaster is headquartered in West Hollywood, California and is an operating business of IAC .
About echomusic
echomusic builds trusted one-to-one relationships directly with consumers for its clients. Acting as a Web 3.0 agency, echo creates and executes individual pieces of overall campaigns or entire brand lifecycles. With more than 300 personality and corporate clients, echo specializes in the creative positioning, branding, web development, advertising, sponsorship procurement, digital and fulfillment distribution of music and other personality-based merchandise all with direct access to the consumer. echomusic is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. http://www.echomusic.com/.
Ticketmaster
CONTACT: Ed Stewart, +1-310-360-2409 or Bonnie Poindexter,+1-310-360-2321, both of Ticketmaster; or Mary Hilliard Harrington ofEchomusic, +1-615-242-7444
Web site: http://www.ticketmaster.com/http://www.echomusic.com/