As expected, Live Nation have announced they will take their ticketing in house when their existing contract with Ticketmaster expires at the end of this year. Live Nation chief Michael Rapino told reporters on Friday that the in house ticketing operation, a JV with German firm CTS Eventim, should bring in $25 million operating income each year.
Billboard quote Rapino thus: "For the first time ever Live Nation will control our most important asset, the concert ticket. Through livenation.com we expect to sell more than 20 million tickets annually directly to music fans throughout the world. Through this activity we expect to strengthen the relationship we have with our customers, develop brand new revenue streams, maximize attendance at our events, and build new alliances with corporate partners that have never been before possible".
Rapino also confirmed that the live music conglom's new ticketing division will compete with Ticketmaster et al to provide ticketing services to venues and tours other than its own.