Safe Ticketing launched a resale ticket purchasing platform in the United States.
The TicketX platform is new to the U.S. market but has a Japanese counterpart, TicketJam, that has been operating since 2017, according to the TicketX website.
The new platform includes a website and app that allows customers to buy tickets for major North American sports leagues — MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL — and concerts, music festivals, comedy shows and other events in the U.S. and Canada, Safe Ticketing said in a Tuesday (July 2) press release.
The company said in the release it aims to differentiate itself in the market by offering buyers a smoother purchasing experience with flat fees, rather than fluctuating ones.
It also offers an easy-to-use interface, detailed information about performers and teams, and customer service, per the release.
In addition, the platform enables sellers to list their own tickets with no commission fees, according to the release.
“Buying resale tickets has always been a confusing and frustrating process for customers with constantly changing fees,” Safe Ticketing CEO Kazuki Tanaka said in the release. “I think customers have really been waiting for someone to fundamentally change that process. I’m confident we’ll be able to do that with TicketX.”
The launch of the platform comes at a time when Live Nation and its Ticketmaster business are facing both a Department of Justice lawsuit and a consumer antitrust lawsuit.
The DOJ filed its lawsuit May 23, alleging antitrust violations and monopolistic practices in the live events industry and seeking to dismantle Live Nation.
A day later, a consumer suit was filed, accusing Live Nation of exerting monopoly control over its industry and seeking $5 billion in damages on behalf of what could be millions of customers.
In a blog post responding to the DOJ suit, Dan Wall, executive vice president of corporate and regulatory affairs at Live Nation, wrote: “It ignores everything that is actually responsible for higher ticket prices, from rising production costs, to artist popularity, to 24/7 online ticket scalping that reveals the public’s willingness to pay far more than primary ticket prices.”
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