Company
CM.com
CM.com, as described on the show by Yannick Corbeau.
Episodes (1)
Stager's Mike van Gaasbeek and CM.com's Yannick Corbeau on why ticketing startups get bought, why signing fees are loans, and who really sets the fees.
Questions these episodes answer
Why do ticketing startups often get acquired instead of growing independently?
Most ticketing startups do not collapse, the guests say, they get bought. They point to a wave of recent acquisitions, Eventim buying See Tickets and Paylogic, and Eventix becoming Weeztix after Weezevent bought it, and says grabbing market share for a few years before a quick exit has become a real strategy for founders in the space.
Why do ticketing companies get blamed for high service fees?
Van Gaasbeek says it is always the promoter, and never the ticketing platform, who decides the service fee added on top of a ticket price. He argues it is easy and convenient for the public to blame the ticketing provider for grabbing money, when the organizer set that fee and pockets a share of it themselves.
How can a smaller ticketing platform compete on price with Ticketmaster or Eventim?
Van Gaasbeek says Stager simply calculates the numbers rather than competing on signing fees. If a client urgently needs upfront cash, Stager is not the right partner, but over a long relationship its lower ongoing fee beats a competitor's signing fee, which is really an expensive loan in disguise.
Is it still profitable to start a new ticketing company today?
Van Gaasbeek says ticketing still carries enough margin on multi-year contracts to make starting a company worthwhile, though deals are increasingly shorter term. That security of predictable revenue, alongside acquisition interest from larger players, keeps new ticketing startups entering the market despite thin transaction margins.
What is the biggest hidden responsibility in running a ticketing company?
Yannick Corbeau says CM.com functions as a promoter's bank, advancing the cash flow organizers need to book artists, pay permits and fund marketing months before a show. He says that fiduciary-like responsibility goes far beyond processing payment, which is why reliable banking and safety systems matter so much in ticketing.