One can hate Ticketmaster for their consumer experience. From the business perspective though, the company does (or has done) a remarkable amount of right thing

One can hate Ticketmaster for their consumer experience. From the business perspective though, the company does (or has done) a remarkable amount of right things. Most important takeaways from this article: * Gawda and Leffler are obviously hackers. Pretty good ones: Out-program the competition and get more performance (transactions) out of a smaller computer system than their larger competitor who has a much larger (and more expensive) system. * CEO Rosen has realized that "ticketing isn't about the bands or the fans, it's about the venues". Thus, they have protected the essence of their business, their customer - the venues - by signing long term contracts with them. Bands and fans come and go, venues are here to stay (and be served). * They have installed right CEOs throughout the decades: In the beginning the already mentioned Rosen who has set the right agenda, "cutthroat" Azoff who has led them thru the major merger and DOJ negotiations and Hubbard who says that he "can't turn on a dime like a startup" but is willing to change when major change is necessary. * Never change the running system. Yes it isn't the system that fans (and bands) want but it is able to stand their rush like no other. Great quote from Andrew Dreskin, Ticketfly’s CEO and cofounder "A large-scale concert on sale is, in essence, a denial-of-service attack". * I, once again, am reminded of the following principle: It's not the innovation that wins, it's the leverage. If the innovation IS the leverage then innovate. If it's not, what is it? In the beginning, Ticketmaster was innovative with (ironically) their computer system. While they still use it as leverage, they in the mean time have another, much bigger one: Ties with major venues.