Oakland, CA-based TicketWeb USA said it established
TicketWeb UK in a joint venture with the McKenzie Group Ltd., owner of
Brixton Academy and Shepherd’s Bush Empire, two of London’s most popular music
venues.
TicketWeb UK will be a full-service
ticket distributor taking orders over the Internet, by telephone and via fax.
Financial arrangements with McKenzie were not disclosed.
U.K ticket sales debut with shows for R.E.M., Echo & the Bunnymen and Lauryn
Hill, and will continue with other major US label performers touring in the UK
early this year.
“The McKenzie Group shares TicketWeb’s mission of lowering consumer ticket
costs and providing venues and promoters with more sophisticated Web-based
services for free,” said Andrew Dreskin, president of TicketWeb. “Our
international expansion is progressing as planned. This year, we expect to
form more partnerships in Europe and beyond.”
This announcement follows on the heels of a TicketWeb deal with African Media
Entertainment (AME), worth $2.8 million. AME is the owner of BIG Concerts,
South Africa’s largest concert promoter. AME has licensed the TicketWeb System
to form TicketWeb South Africa,
the second
distinct Web site from the original TicketWeb USA.
TicketWeb is a global Internet-based company committed to reducing
ticket distribution costs through the use of modern technology. It claims to
be the first company in the world to sell event tickets over the Internet and
now serves more than 300
clients on three continents. TicketWeb’s clients include the Louvre in
Paris, the Museum of Modern Art in both San Francisco and New York, the San
Diego Zoo, and the San Francisco Jazz Festival.