LiveNation Has Joined Forces With Blockbuster… Why?

In what amounts to being the latest spectacular example of completely inane partnerships between corporations, LiveNation announced today that it will begin selling tickets to popular events through 500 Blockbuster store locations across the country. The move is designed to challenge online ticket behemoth Ticketmaster, who have a stranglehold on online ticket sales. According to spin from In the words of ticketing Chief Executive Nathan Hubbard:

“Having a direct involvement in ticket sales allows the company to deepen its relationship with fans so that it can market other events to them.”

Now, call me crazy, but this seems to fly in the face of accepted practice for ticket purchasing for the past five years. People already don’t drive to Blockbuster to rent movies. Why would they suddenly give up buying tickets online from the convenience of their own homes in order to physically drive to a store instead? Not only that, but Blockbuster will still be charging a service charge on each ticket sold, which means that the cost of purchasing tickets won’t be dramatically different. If you factor in the transportation and time costs of the transaction “direct involvement” starts to look a little weak. I simply can’t find any trace of a coherent concept here.

Which brings me to my next point, concerning customer experiences and the introduction of new products and services. When looking to implement a change from the status quo, the golden rule is that whatever is on offer has to either raise the customer’s quality of life ten fold or be ten times easier to use. This is crucial to “Crossing the Chasm,” a term coined by Geoffrey A. Moore in his book of the same name. In order to move a product or service from being accepted by early adopters to being used by the early majority, it is vital that the “ten fold” rule I just described be implemented. LiveNation is trying to circumvent the accepted practice of buying tickets online by being less convenient and not noticeably different in terms of price. The company has chosen to ally itself with a dying brick and mortar franchise that is looking to diversify in the face of serious competition from its own online competitor, Netflix. Ultimately, this amounts to two companies trying to compensate for their weaknesses instead of partnering based on their strengths - a situation that almost always leads to failure.

In the words of Guy Kawasaki, make sure your partnerships accentuate your strengths instead of covering your weaknesses.