Live Nation begins to roll out its new ticketing operation

Just in time for the Holidays, and a bit ahead of its planned launch in January, Live Nation this week has begun to roll out its new ticketing operation on the company's Web site, LiveNation.com.

For the most part, consumers will not see any changes in the short term because the company is slowly transitioning more than 70 venues to the new system. In fact, ticket buyers still looking to purchase tickets from LiveNation.com for events during this calendar year are still redirected to Ticketmaster Entertainment for those transactions.

But, as evidenced by the screenshot below, people who are buying tickets for events in the New Year at several of the company's venues are now greeted with Live Nation's elegant, streamlined ticketing portal, created with the help of its new partner Germany-based ticketing giant CTS Eventim. The screenshot is of a Temptations concert in February at the Capital One Bank Theatre at Westbury in New York.

Consumers will be given the choice of buying tickets by section or using the company's innovative, Java-based seating map system, which allows users to pick their seat from a pop-up screen.

The company is planning to launch a coordinated public relations initiative in the coming weeks to announce and promote the new ticketing operation, but it started the slow rollout now because the transition will take time. As one ticket executive with knowledge of the operation said, such an undertaking could not happen by "just flipping a switch."

In the last several months, Live Nation has worked hard to create its ticketing operation to compete with rival, and soon-to-be former client, Ticketmaster, during which time it signed partnership deals with venue operator SMG and video rental giant Blockbuster.

News of the new ticketing venture, and of the company's recent artist signings, has done little to help Live Nation's stock, which trades under the symbol LYV. At about 11am this morning, Christmas Eve, the shares of the stock were trading above $4, well above its 52-week low of $2.73, but still down tremendously from its 52-week high of $18.75. See the ticker beneath the screenshot.

Live Nation will be among the companies participating in Ticket Summit NYC, January 6-8 at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York.