Can Eventbrite Unseat Ticketmaster?

Grumbling about Ticketmaster is nothing new. It’s been almost 20 years since Pearl Jam led its much publicized boycott of the ticket sales giant. (I’m dating myself with that reference, I realize.) And still Ticketmaster has dominated the industry, merging with LiveNation in 2010 and providing ticket sales for most major music events.

But the ticketing startup Eventbrite may have its sights set on overthrowing the giant, and with a major influx of financing, perhaps it stands a chance of doing so.

The New York Times reports that Eventbrite has raised $50 million in venture capital, bringing the total raised by the company to $79.5 million.

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Thus far, Eventbrite has remained focused on selling tickets to small, local events, but even at that smaller scale, the company says it’s on track to sell more than $400 million worth of tickets this year, almost double what it sold in 2010.

However, Eventbrite is starting to reach beyond these sorts of events and will undertake its biggest event yet this summer: selling 60,000 tickets for a Black Eyed Peas concert in Central Park.

Clearly it isn’t the size of the events that has driven Eventbrite’s success. In part it comes from the ease-of-use for event organizers, as well as the ease-of-sharing for both planners and attendees. That ability to share an event via a social media generates an average of $12 in additional ticket sales for Eventbrite, CEO Kevin Hartz tells The New York Times.

The company plans to use its new investment to expand internationally as well as to build out its technological infrastructure – something that will allow it to tackle more complex ticketing procedures such as reserved-seating events. It will also use the funds to help it take on rivals in the business, which include not only the giant Ticketmaster but the startup Ticketfly.

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