Most people who have bought tickets for concerts or sporting events have heard of Ticketmaster. They are a familiar name when it comes to purchasing seats for a wide range of events. But how did this prominent ticketing system come into place and what exactly does the company do?

Ticketmaster is a company that focuses on sales and distribution. While the company is housed in California, they operate in a number of countries outside of the United States. Ticketmaster essentially serves as an agent to their clients: the stadiums, arenas, and theatres that host events. Ticketmaster generally doesn’t have any control over the event itself; that is left in the care of the host venue. Rather, the venues provide tickets to Ticketmaster, who in turn sells them to the public.

Ticketmaster is a company that tries to stay on the cusp of technological developments. They were one of the first ticketing systems to use the Internet as a way to sell seats. Today, the World Wide Web accounts for a significant percentage of their sales, though ticket outlets and phone orders are also still in use. They have also dedicated time and resources to countering the problem of fraudulent tickets. One method used is a printed barcode on tickets that serves to prevent false passes from being accepted at the gate.

Ticketmaster holds a significant market share when it comes to sales of tickets in the United States. To date, more than 50% of event tickets in the country are sold through them. While there are a host of other ticketing software solutions available, many venues prefer to outsource. Ticketmaster charges buyers a fee rather than keeping a portion of the ticket price.