Ticket Summit News

StubHub President Chris Tsakalakis has been tapped to deliver a keynote speech at Ticket Summit 2009 Vegas.

Although Tsakalakis took a circuitous route to the secondary ticket industry, he is now one of its giants. After graduating from the prestigious Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in Economics, Tsakalakis worked as a consultant for Bain & Company. He then held management positions at a few startup ecommerce companies and consulting firms before moving on to eBay.   Full Story...

By Kelly McWilliams

Veteran PR professional Diane Lancaster Gibes is eager to join her colleagues at Ticket Summit 2009 Vegas, her first appearance at the annual ticket industry event. The trade show and conference, the largest in the industry, is scheduled for July 15-17 at the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino.  Full Story...

Dave Brooks is getting ready for his fourth appearance at Ticket Summit, and he couldn’t be happier. An assignment editor and senior writer with Venues Today magazine, Brooks has attended every Ticket Summit and has found each one interesting, educational, and enjoyable.

At Ticket Summit 2009 Las Vegas, running from July 15-17 at the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, Brooks is scheduled to speak on a panel concerning the future of Las Vegas venues and theaters, entitled "The Future of Vegas Venues and the Theatre Industry." In his position with Venues Today, Brooks has had years of experience in analyzing venues and knows a fair amount about their performance in the current market.   Full Story...

James Hurwitz, author of a 58-page White Paper against the proposed merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation, will be one of the keynote speakers at Ticket Summit, July 15-17 at the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas.

Hurwitz is a retiree from the Federal Trade Commission, where he specialized in competition policy matters for the Office of the General Counsel and Bureau of Competition, and he wrote the report for the American Antitrust Institute. To read the report click here.  Full Story...

Building on its prior success in attracting top-flight participants to the event, Ticket Summit Las Vegas has signed up several first-time speakers and panelists for the July 15-17 conference and trade show, including renowned ticket industry expert Dr. Marianne Jennings, an economics professor at Arizona State University (ASU).

The July event, being held for the fourth consecutive year at the popular Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, will mark Jennings' first appearance at the convention, and she is scheduled to be one of the keynote speakers who will address ticketing and the economy. Jennings and fellow ASU economics professor, Dr. Stephen Happel, have written extensively about the ticketing industry and are considered the two most knowledgeable academics studying the primary and secondary ticket markets.   Full Story...

Entertainment industry resource and news Web site CelebrityAccess has signed on to be an exhibitor at the fourth annual Ticket Summit Las Vegas, scheduled for July 15-17 at the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino. The three-day event, which is hosted by TicketNews's parent company TicketNetwork, is the leading trade show and conference dedicated to the secondary ticket industry.

CelebrityAccess is participating in its third Ticket Summit, and according to Senior Account Supervisor Shawn Garrity, the event has helped the company reach a new group of clients.  Full Story...

For the nearly 400 ticket professionals last week who attended the first annual Ticket Summit NYC at the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel, 2009 will be a year of change as they look to keep their businesses thriving during the current recession.

While some expressed a little nervousness about what the immediate future holds for the industry, attendees appeared to be pleased by the conference itself, stressing that the turnout was strong and the discussion panels were very helpful.   Full Story...

The ticket resale process can sometimes be confusing for customers who aren't aware that they're buying their ducats from a broker rather than a primary seller, especially when they arrive at the box office. But in the Ticket Summit 2009 NYC panel "Box Office Blues: Venue Issues in the Evolving Market," venue representatives and brokers discussed solutions for improving the customer experience even after a ticket sale has been completed.

Moderator Dave Brooks, an editor and writer for trade publication Venues Today, opened the panel discussion to the audience, allowing the two sides to actively trade thoughts and questions on the subject.  Full Story...

During the first panel session of Ticket Summit 2009 NYC, theatre and ticket industry insiders discussed forging partnerships on Broadway in "Break a Leg! Get in on the Broadway Act." While the Great White Way has lagged behind the concert and sports industries when it comes to incorporating ticket resale in its business plan, both sides hoped to amend the relationship between theatre's primary and secondary markets.

Producer Ken Davenport, of Davenport Theatrical, noted that a partnership isn't out of the question. "I watch primary ticket sales, but I wish I had more info from [brokers]," he noted. "Secondary sales are the best gauge of word of mouth [for a show]."  Full Story...