Thank You, Harpoon Brewery!

We work hard every day at Ticket Alternative, but we have fun while we’re doing it. Although we’re based in Atlanta, we ticket events all over the country and one of our favorites to work is the American Craft Beer Fest in Boston. We’ve been working with Todd and Jason Alström for four years now, and each year we’re on-site helping making sure entry to their event is fast and easy.

Our friends at Harpoon Brewery produce this and many other great beer events at their brewery in Boston, like the Mass Brewers Fest. Harpoon Brewery host an after-party each year with many guest brewers adding their beers to the taps in their brewery store. We’ve met many of their team; they’re a great bunch of people – and they make great beer! There’s a lot of similarities between our company cultures and we love their Harpoon Helps initiative.

We recently asked Warren Dibble (Harpoon Brewery VP and CTO) about his experience working with us and here’s what he had to say:

“Over the last four years, I have worked with Ticket Alternative on six different events promoting craft beer with two different organizations. Their service is great. Their principals and team members have consistently shown a high degree of integrity. Furthermore, they have been a pleasure to work with. I fully endorse them!”

Other beer festivals we work with include the Decatur Beer Fest, Winter Beer Carnival and the Vermont Brewers Fest.

Interested in selling tickets to your beer festival with us? Find out more here.

Ticket Alternative Sponsors Atlanta Foursquare Day

We’re happy to be a part of the second annual Atlanta Foursquare Day, happening on Saturday, April 16. We’re joining sponsors like Engauge, Fifth Group Restaurants, Sweetwater Brewery and others in celebrating some great deals and a fabulous party at W Atlanta Downtown.

This year there will be more special deals all day from the likes of Rita’s (free Italian ice), Dancing Goats Coffee Bar (BOGO on all coffee/espresso drinks) and more (check out the full list and details HERE).

There will also be a party held at W Atlanta Downtown on the hotels rooftop bar. There is no need for an invite, folks just have to check-in “2011 Atlanta Foursquare Day Party” venue at the hotel to get entry. Party-goers will be treated to a complimentary “Foursquare Cocktail,” as well as Foursquare buttons, coozies, stickers and, for the first 100 entrants, a free Foursquare T-shirt. The W will also be bringing in bites from their well-known restaurants, and a cash bar will feature drink specials.

Local charities Atlanta Community Food Bank and Atlanta Humane Society are also involved and will be benefiting from this event. Attendees can bring non-perishable food for ACFB, and at check-in there will an opportunity to make a pledge to Atlanta Humane Society. That pledge will be multiplied by the number of check-ins (capped at 250) to give the final pledge. So if a person pledges 10 cents and the number of check-ins is 250, their final pledge would be $25. More information about this event is available HERE.

Red Palace Joins Ticket Alternative!

We are very excited to welcome Red Palace into the Ticket Alternative fold. We’ve worked with some of these fine folks before, when the venue was two clubs, the Red and the Black and the Palace of Wonders. We sold tickets for the Red and the Black and are happy to be back working with them in their new form. Washington City Paper has written a great article with more information. And here’s what the venue has to offer:

My Dear Disco w/ How I Became The Bomb – October 15

Xiu Xiu – October 16

Blood Red Shoes w/ Sky Larkin – October 22

Rocky Votolato w/ Ha Ha Tonka – October 23

Old Canes (Christopher Crisci of The Appleseed Cast) – October 24

Marnie Stern – October 26

Astronautalis – October 27

The Aggrolites – October 28

Frontier(s) (Ex-Elliott) w/ Solar Powered Sun Destroyer – October 29

The Dirges w/ Black Dog Prowl – October 31

8th Annual Pie and Rock-n-Roll Extravaganza – November 6

Toubab Krewe and Rubblebucket – November 7

The Vita Ruins – November 13

Ticket Alternative Welcomes Criminal Records Back As An Atlanta Outlet!

We’re very happy to welcome back Criminal Records as a Ticket Alternative outlet! They had a brief time away as they moved the store to its huge, amazing new location (still in Little Five Points, 1154-A Euclid Avenue), and now they are back selling tickets for Ticket Alternative again, joining the crew of Decatur CD, Fantasyland Records and lots of CD Warehouses around and near Atlanta, Ga. Welcome back!

Billboard picks up the Washington Post story about Ticket Alternative’s low fees

Billboard has picked up The Washington Post story we reported earlier comparing our fee’s to other ticketing companies.

Here’s their piece:

– The Washington Post has broken down the service fees of tickets for shows at ten DC-area venues (see the chart here) and comes to the incredible conclusion that “venues aren’t likely to get rid of service charges any time soon.” As is often the case, the article is an example of the irrational mindset of the ticket buyer. When the Post puts forward the question, “Why am I being charged $23.75 for a $15 concert ticket,” it reflects a common misunderstanding. The real price is $23.75, not $15. The face value is only the beginning of the final price that will be paid. If consumers prefer a single, all-in ticket price, they will pay a higher price but will blind be to the amount of service fees being tacked on. Maybe that ignorance would be a good thing. Either way, they’re paying those service fees. Side note: if you look at the prices and fees on the chart, you’ll see that Ticketmaster’s fees don’t fare too poorly to some of its competitors. Ticketfly events in the sample have an extra $8 to $11 of fees while Ticketmaster fees range from $9.60 to $17.50. As a percent of face value, Ticketmaster’s service fees are quite average. Ticket Alternative, which counts the Black Cat and Rock & Roll Hotel as its clients, charges $3 or less per ticket, the lowest in the sample. (Washington Post)

The Washington Post compares ticket fees & Ticket Alternative comes out on top!

On Sunday May 9th The Washington Post ran an article comparing ticket fees between different venues in the DC area. Naturally, Ticket Alternative came out on top with The Washington Post saying “The is one of the best deals in town.”

You can read the full article below, or online here.

An attempt to break down concert ticket service charges

By Chris Richards
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, May 9, 2010

Why do birds suddenly appear? Should I stay or should I go? Who let the dogs out?

And why am I being charged $23.75 for a $15 concert ticket?

The last question has an answer: Service charges, those annoying fees tacked on to the price of a concert ticket for no apparent reason. Along with hidden credit-card fees and staggering ATM surcharges, ticket service charges offer another twist in the maze of penalties facing American consumers. And concertgoers are getting tired of it.

“I think the fans feel used and abused,” says Gary Bongiovanni, editor in chief of Pollstar, a trade publication for the concert industry. “As an industry, it’s extremely disingenuous to do what we do. These fees may exist for reasons that business people understand, but when a fan tries to buy a ticket for $60, and they pull out their wallet and it ends up being 80-something? Just tell them it’s an $85 ticket, so they don’t feel scammed in the process.”

So where’s the “service” in a service charge? And why do they vary so widely?

Local venues cite disparate operating expenses. Ticketing companies offer customized rates to venues, often based on the volume of tickets they expect to sell. Some venues profit from their service charges while others claim to break even. Sounds as simple as decoding your cellphone bill, right?

Despite complaints from concertgoers, venues aren’t likely to get rid of service charges anytime soon. To help fans understand the fees they should expect to pay, we picked a single gig from each of the area’s leading venues and clicked on the best seats we could find. Below, a breakdown. (Click on the image below to enlarge it)

Ticket Alternative Announces “No Convenience Fees” At Any of their Ticket Outlets on Record Store Day – Saturday, April 17

Ticket Alternative will waive all convenience fees on tickets purchased for any event at any Ticket Alternative outlet on Saturday, April 17, in honor of Record Store Day – a celebration for the culture that surrounds hundreds of unique record stores around the world.

Customers simply need to purchase tickets in person at one of the following Ticket Alternative outlets (which happen to be record stores!) on Saturday, April 17 during normal store hours.

In addition, customers will have a chance to win tickets and guest list spots to over a dozen concerts at multiple venues – such as The EARL, Star Bar, 529, Vinyl and The Loft.

About Ticket Alternative

Ticket Alternative (www.ticketalternative.com) provides a wide range of ticketing and box office solutions for hundreds of venues nationwide while maintaining the lowest service charges in the industry. This Atlanta based company, with an office in the U.K., prints millions of tickets for independent distribution throughout the U.S. and the U.K. through TA Ticket Printing.  Founded in 2004, by music lovers and entrepreneurs Iain Bluett and Jamie Dwyer, Ticket Alternative believes in putting fans first, dedicated to providing stellar customer and client support.  Combining these elements created a visionary solution that has catapulted Ticket Alternative to market-leader status as they continue to add venues as well as theatres, sports teams, festivals, non-profits and other events across the nation.

Visit www.ticketalternative.com for a complete list of concerts and events nationwide.

For more information, contact:
Melinda M. Bluett, Director of Marketing & Operations
P. 404.897.2375 | melinda.bluett@ticketalternative.com

Ticket Alternative sponsors the January GAPTA meeting.

Ticket Alternative was proud to sponsor the January GAPTA meeting held at the South West Arts Center in Atlanta. The bi-monthly meeting is attended by members of the ticketing industry in Georgia. The members include staff from the Atlanta Ballet, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Falcons, Frederick J Brown Amphitheatre, Ticketmaster, Atlantix, Cobb Energy Center, Fabulous Fox Theater, Georgia Dome, Center For Puppetry Arts, Rialto Center for the Performing Arts and many more.

Every other month, the group gets together to share industry experience and discuss relevant topics over lunch. The meeting is held at a different venue each time and provides an opportunity to tour each venue and see their ticketing operations.

If you’re interested in joining the group, please visit www.gapta.info or visit them on Facebook

… Continue Reading

Hard Rock Cafe Nashville Signs on with Ticket Alternative!

We're very excited to welcome Hard Rock Cafe into our fold of rapidly-increasing venues! We've worked with Hard Rock Nashville a few times in the past, but are now officially their ticket outlet.

And they're just added some great new shows:

Free T-Shirt & Koozie with any Gift Certificate Purchase – Black Friday Only!

Ticket Alternative is pleased to announce it’s first ever Black Friday Special!

Receive a free Ticket Alternative t-shirt and koozie with the purchase of any Gift Certificate on Friday, November 27th only.

It’s Easy! Simply place your order online here and we’ll contact you to get your t-shirt size. Orders must be placed before 11:59pm on Friday November 27th.

Our Gift Certificates never expire and can be used for events at venues nationwide such as:

• Black Cat & Rock and Roll Hotel (DC),
• Juanita’s & The Rev Room (AR)
• The Earl, Smith’s, & the Loft (GA)
• Fredrick J. Brown Amphitheater – Coming in 2010 (GA)
• The Rock (MN)

And, don’t forget about events like these:

• Various New Year’s Eve Parties
• Taste Of Atlanta
• Decatur Beer Festival
• Naperville Ribfest

Choose from $25, $50, or $75 or $100 denominations. They are good for ANY event we sell tickets to.

What are you waiting for? Click here to give the gift of Ticket Alternative Events & Concerts nationwide.