Business News Deals Digital Live Business

YouTube announces Ticketmaster tie-up

By Chris Cooke | Published on Wednesday 15 November 2017

YouTube, as I’m sure you all know by now, understands “the importance of helping artists find ways to build deeper connections with their fans”. How do we know? Because it just said so, that’s how. And who doesn’t love a deeper connection with their fans? No one, that’s who. The deeper the better I say. Aim for the magma.

But how to get that deeper connection, that’s the challenge isn’t it? Worry not, YouTube has identified a solution. Sell em tickets to your gig! See, it’s simple now they’ve said it, but you’d have never have come up with that in a month of Tuesdays. And no such month exists.

Having identified this killer solution, YouTube has teamed up with Ticketmaster to flog tickets to gigs alongside its videos. “We’ve been experimenting with ways we can offer a ticketing experience to fans”, says the Google video site, “and we’re excited to announce our first ticketing partnership with Ticketmaster”.

“Starting today, we will begin featuring hundreds of artists’ upcoming US tour dates on their YouTube videos”, it goes on. “Fans enjoying an artist’s official music video on YouTube can now learn about upcoming concert listings and, with a simple click, go to Ticketmaster to purchase tickets”. Wow, simple clicks, genius!

The Google site’s latest grand “stop moaning about your royalties and we’ll help you sell stuff” strategy (it’s dabbled with this before), will ultimately roll out around the world, while YouTube adds that it also plans “to find additional ways to make meaningful fan and artist connections”. Additional ways! Crazy stuff. They’ll be helping artists sell t-shirts next.