Hundreds of ticket industry professionals will descend on the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel in Manhattan beginning today for Ticket Summit, the secondary ticketing market’s largest conference and trade show.
The annual event is marking its second foray in New York City, but represents the sixth overall Ticket Summit, which was initially launched by TicketNews’s parent company TicketNetwork as an annual conference in Las Vegas in 2006.
“From venue managers and event promoters, to ticketing agents and marketing strategists, the Ticket Summit conference has become the networking destination for professionals in the ticketing and entertainment industries,” Dr. Molly A. Martinez, executive director of Ticket Summit, said in a statement. “With a unique variety of panel sessions and networking opportunities, the event offerings scheduled for this upcoming Ticket Summit conference are simply unparalleled.”
About 500 industry professionals are expected to attend the event, and for the first time the conference will feature panels on concert and theater promotion, and the present and future of the primary ticketing market.
It is during the latter panel that conference has landed a coup: former Ticketmaster President and CEO Sean Moriarty will be participating for the first time at Ticket Summit.
Moriarty is one of the ticketing industry’s most-respected and influential executives, and before leaving Ticketmaster, he was instrumental in the company acquiring TicketsNow.
Joining Moriarty on the Friday keynote panel “Then & Now: The Primary Market” will be Larry Witherspoon, CEO of Tickets.com); Jeff Kline CEO of Veritix; Andrew Dreskin, CEO of TicketFly; and Ben Mogil, Research Analyst with Thomas Weisel Partners, as the panel’s moderator.
The conference and trade show begin tonight with a cocktail party that will feature a performance by the cast of the popular Broadway musical Rock of Ages. Thursday and Friday will feature the panel discussions and large exhibit floor where industry vendors will showcase their products and services, and the event will conclude Friday night with a gala reception at Nikki Beach in Manhattan.
