TicketNetwork CEO Don Vaccaro sent ticket broker clients of the company an email this week, outlining several ways they could adjust their operations to help weather the storm facing secondary ticketing with the hard stop that the Covid-19 pandemic has hit American live and live events with.
The secondary ticketing exchange leader offered advice on finding small business loans, reducing costs, and keeping some positive business in place while waiting out the storm.
“We all know the situation that we are in,” Vaccaro wrote. “Instead of revisiting it, let’s try to figure out ways to mitigate the losses and prepare for a return.”
At its core, the message was an offer for ticketing professionals to switch to the company’s direct processing system, which enables clients to become the merchant of record for sales that occur on the TicketNetwork marketplace. In a time where almost every resale marketplace has switched its payment systems to processing after an event has occurred (rather than after a sale has been made), such a shift would allow clients to have their own businesses holding the funds rather than the exchange on which their sales are made.
“Shows will be going on sale soon,” he writes. “However, if you buy tickets and don’t get paid until after the event happens your cash flow will dry up… If you don’t have the cash flow to take advantage [of new tickets becoming available as events return] it will be worthless to you.”
In addition to the advantages he pointed out for its direct method and potential tools brokers could implement to keep afloat during the pandemic, Vaccaro advocated for a continued push to convince legislators to pass laws against restrictive transfer policies. Such policies harm consumer rights, and could also pose an actual health risk in the time of pandemic due to the possibility of consumers using tickets they can’t easily transfer due to such restrictions – whether or not they are ill and risking fellow event attendees.
As other exchanges have cut staff and implemented changes that put broker clients in an even bigger bind than the live events freeze already has, Vaccaro struck a tone of cooperation and ingenuity in his message, with hopes that as many of those reading it would be able to remain in business despite the tight spot. “Again, I think you for your patronage, and help during this crisis,” he said. “Hopefully we will all make it through this together.”