Streaming music service Pandora reeled off a blockbuster purchase yesterday, coming to an agreement to acquire the online concert ticketing service Ticketfly,
The company announced that it purchased the ticket company with a combination of cash and stock amounting to around $450 million. Ticketfly’s gross revenue was around $500 million last year which resulted in net commissions of around $35 million. The company, which specializes in selling tickets for small to medium size venues, has shown some significant growth in the first half of 2015 with a net of around $55 million.
The purchase could be classified as a coup for Pandora, as it moves the company into an area ripe for disruption that also puts it in a position to finally turn a profit.
Concert revenue has become the major source of income for many top tier artists, more than making up for the losses incurred when the industry switched to digital music. The problem is that the areas of music discovery (mostly radio) and consumption via streaming music services haven’t integrated very well with the concert industry, which means lost revenue opportunities. Artists below the superstar level have yet to benefit to the same degree from the increased concert revenue as well.
Only about 20% of the US population attended a live music event last year, according to the giant concert promoter LiveNation. The reason that the figure is so low isn’t because fans have an aversion to crowds, but mostly because they’re not aware that their favorite artists are performing near where they live.
Having Ticketfly as an integral piece of Pandora may be an answer to this dilemma.
While Pandora has yet to turn a profit from its music service, one thing it does boast is close to 80 million active users. Read more on Forbes.
