AEG's AXS ticketing business looks to target Australian live music sector

AXS, the ticketing division of global sporting and music entertainment business AEG, is looking to enter the Australian market with the opening of a local office next month.

An Australian arm for the ticketing platform will potentially link with venues operated by ASM Global (the entity formed in 2019 the AEG merged SMG) including Qudos Bank Arena, Brisbane Entertainment Centre, RAC Arena and Suncorp Stadium.

AEG also has a strategic alliance with the Mushroom Group's Frontier Touring, giving the group potential control of the tickets, the venues and the shows themselves.

The significant change for the Australian market will gives each of the three big concert promoters their own ticketing businesses - Live Nation’s Ticketmaster, TEG’s Ticketek and AEG’s AXS - as well as ownership over a large portion of Australia's mid to large-sized live music venues.

According to a report in The Australian, AXS Chief Executive Bryan Perez is considering the Australian live music market as part of the business' international expansion.

Seeing the opportunity for a third major player in Australian ticketing that will do business differently, Perez told The Australian "we feel like there’s an opportunity for a third major player to come in, but we don’t want to just come in and do business the same old way.

“We think that there’s a new and better business model out there, where ticketing may be a little bit more non-exclusive and open.”

Commenting on the arrival, music industry publication The Music wrote "while it shows strength and resilience in the Australian market, it also begs the question of whether smaller promoters without the advantage of ticketing revenue will be able to compete in the new landscape.

"AXS's entry into the market will come as a blow to the incumbents Ticketek and Ticketmaster, who have traditionally handled these venues and further marked out the territory between the big three multinationals."

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