After a decade of meteoric growth, the global ticket market is still chugging full steam ahead. Between 2021 and 2026, ticket sales are expected to increase by over $159 billion, with sports events having contributed over $15 billion in 2022 alone.
While overall demand for live events continues to grow, traditional season ticket packages are losing relevance with many modern-day sports fans. Alarming trends indicate that despite 70% of Americans being sports fans, a significant portion of Gen Z are absent from stadium stands. Almost half of Gen Z (47%) have never been to a professional game and 60% haven't set foot in a collegiate stadium.
The culprits? Steep ticket prices, exorbitant ticket fees, and long-term commitments.
Enter the modern fan's ticketing wishlist: affordability, flexibility, ease-of-use, and a digital-first experience. So far, neither primary nor secondary ticket marketplaces have been able to check all these boxes. Some teams have experimented with discounted single-game tickets, but these promotions can’t deliver recurring revenue and data insights compared to season products.
While many organizations are investing heavily into restructuring their venues to cater to Gen Z’s digital-first habits through amenities like fast WiFi, reliable mobile ordering, and communal spaces to gather, they still struggle to connect to the needs and desires of many fans. To attract and retain this younger generation of live event enthusiasts, it's imperative for event organizers and venue managers to recalibrate their ticketing strategies to the digital-first and price-conscious mindset of these younger consumers who want a variety of options at their disposal.
Introducing LivePass, the ultimate membership for all things live. With LivePass, fans gain exclusive access to an incredible array of live entertainment, including NFL, NBA, MLB, and MLS games, concerts, comedy shows, and theater performances across the country through a single, monthly subscription.
The premise is simple. All LivePass customers pay a monthly subscription fee in exchange for points that can be put towards tickets and experiences at top-tier entertainment events. These points can then be used towards any available events on the LivePass marketplace across North America. LivePass will launch in Atlanta and Oregon in early February, with additional markets coming online shortly thereafter.
LivePass was developed by seasonshare – the customizable ticketing technology platform that helps sports teams, entertainment organizations and world-class venues make live entertainment more accessible to the next generation of consumers.
“Younger fans purchase fewer season tickets than their older counterparts. Understanding and capturing this demographic is imperative to ensure the continuity of live events. The future fan expects a fast, fluid and flexible experience empowered by technology and aligned with their consumption behavior. LivePass is the season ticket of the future and allows venues to align with the evolving consumer without degrading the value of their other ticket offerings.” said Aaron Holland, CEO at seasonshare.
Lead by Sehaj Grover, formerly at Google, the LivePass product engineering team has created a holistically new offering that has never existed before in the live events vertical. This product has the potential to reimagine the live event category and empower the next generation of live event consumers.
Event organizers and venues are at a crossroads: either evolve to meet the customer on their terms or risk falling behind. By leveraging platforms like LivePass, organizations can directly address fans' pain points and desires, foster stronger relationships with new and existing fans, increase in-stadium attendance, and deliver more personalized and memorable experiences for their audiences.
