YouTube is selling tickets.
Okay, so it’s not quite as exciting a story as that first sounds: the Google/Alphabet platform has announced its first ever ticketing partnership, with Ticketmaster.
The deal will see YouTube advertise concert listings within artist videos, and then push users over to Ticketmaster to make the transaction.
But it will be seen as an exciting move by managers and artists nonetheless – especially with YouTube recently announcing that it attracts over 1.5bn logged-in monthly users.
The fruits of a new agreement between YouTube and Ticketmaster will, at first, only be seen in the US, but the plan is to spread the initiative into other territories.
In a blog, YouTube’s music team wrote: “At YouTube, we understand the importance of helping artists find ways to build deeper connections with their fans – the ones who not only watch and listen to videos, but are also willing to pay to see live performances.
“And, with live concerts becoming a bigger driver of revenue for artists, we want to help artists reach those fans, keep them updated about upcoming shows, and sell more tickets.
“We’ve been experimenting with ways we can offer a ticketing experience to fans and we’re excited to announce our first ticketing partnership with Ticketmaster. Starting today, we will begin featuring hundreds of artists’ upcoming U.S. tour dates on their YouTube videos.”
“Fans enjoying an artist’s official music video on YouTube can now learn about upcoming concert listings and with a simple click, go to Ticketmaster to purchase tickets.”
It adds: “Fans enjoying an artist’s official music video on YouTube can now learn about upcoming concert listings and with a simple click, go to Ticketmaster to purchase tickets.
“YouTube’s massive fan base paired with Ticketmaster’s global roster of concerts and security of verified tickets means we can easily connect a fan’s discovery of music on YouTube to their ability to purchase concert tickets.
“We’re just getting started. We’ll be rolling out this feature to all artists who have Ticketmaster shows in North America with plans to expand globally. And, as part of our ongoing commitment to support artists, we’ll continue to find additional ways to make meaningful fan and artist connections.”Music Business Worldwide
