Ticketmaster Gets Into The Fan Business

Ticketmaster has acquired a stake in Nashville based echomusic, an online fan club and brand management company with clients  like Kelly Clarkson, Rascal Flatts, Dierks Bentley and Keith Urban.
Ticketmaster and echomusic will attempt to leverage their resources to increase fan club memberships and drive ticket sales. The move comes on the heels of concert giant Live Nation’s recent investment in
fan-centric MusicToday and just a year before LiveNation’s contract with Ticketmaster expires.

The companies intend to integrate select technologies and resources with a goal of offering a closer connection between fans and entertainers, athletes and brands. Jointly the companies will look to enhance their relationship with iLike and IAC properties such as Ask.com and Citysearch to
create new channels for music discovery and distribution.

"By integrating echo’s innovative technology with Ticketmaster’s distribution network we present an extremely compelling marketing and sales platform for the music industry as well as all of live entertainment," said Sean Moriarty, Ticketmaster’s President and CEO. More announcements regarding enhanced services and echomusic’s staff expansion will follow in the coming weeks .