Spaceland parts ways with TicketWeb, links with Ticketfly

In a move that was foretold the moment Ticketmaster merged with Live Nation, L.A.’s little promoter that could Spaceland Presents has linked with San Francisco’s independent ticket supplier, Ticketfly. Spaceland and Ticketfly have been working closely together for about a month now, and today are celebrating their newfound business partnership by offering tickets without service fees from noon till midnight at Spaceland-promoted gigs.

Spaceland, which promotes shows at the Echo and Echoplex in Echo Park, as well as hosting events in Pershing Square, the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum and the Getty, has had a long-standing relationship with Ticketmaster’s TicketWeb. Spaceland’s new partnership with Ticketfly, however, goes beyond ticketing, as the latter will power a new Spaceland site as well as handle social media marketing for the local promoter.

Upcoming concerts at the Echo and Echoplex include the hard-rock-focused Power of the Riff Festival with OFF! on Aug. 11, the world music of Antibalas on Aug. 14 and the roomy, tasteful pop of Poliça on Aug. 21, among many others.

Said Spaceland founder Mitchell Frank of Ticketfly in a press release:

“By embracing the newest technologies and integrating various social media platforms, the company has created a better overall experience for the ticket buyer.

“Music fans spend less time purchasing tickets and more time discovering and sharing our music events. Additionally, Ticketfly’s ability to populate all our social media channels at once will greatly streamline our marketing efforts.”

Ticketfly works with numerous venues in the L.A. area, including the Troubadour, the Mint, the Satellite and Fold-promoted events at the Bootleg Bar. Pop & Hiss asked Frank what inspired the move, but the promoter preferred not to comment beyond what was in the official statement.

Two years back, though, Frank was more open, and noted that the merger between promoter/venue owner Live Nation and ticketing agency/management firm Ticketmaster Entertainment likely meant Spaceland would no longer be working with the latter, as Frank cited unfair competition due to Live Nation’s venue interests. At the time of the merger in early 2010, Spaceland was contractually committed to TicketWeb for an additional year and a half.

“TicketWeb through Ticketmaster could do studies using my data,” Frank said in 2010. “Therefore, Live Nation would know what shows my crowd is going to, what the demographic is, what neighborhood, what the ZIP codes are. TicketWeb could easily do a published study. It’s unfair competition. That becomes the killer.”

The move comes as Frank is in the midst of expanding his indie empire. Early in 2012, Frank unveiled his plans to turn the Regent Theatre in downtown L.A.’s historic core into a multi-use venue. The planned occupancy of the Regent is 1,289 persons, and the venue would be used for film screenings and concerts, as well as a restaurant.

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