CONTINUED STUNNING GROWTH
CONFIRMS SEATWAVE'S NO. 1 POSITION
Europe's leading ticket exchange
increases lead on the field
LONDON: 05 May 2009 - Seatwave, Europe's leading fan-to-fan
ticket exchange, today announced explosive growth for Q1, supported
by ComScore's latest report confirming that Seatwave is Europe's
largest ticket exchange by a factor of more than 2 to 1 versus its
nearest competitor. March sales alone grew by 287% year on year,
one of the many indicators of the company's increasing success.
This strong growth was boosted, in part, by the phenomenal
response to Michael Jackson's This Is It O2 residency. The
King of Pop's comeback tour outsold Kings of Leon, Coldplay,
Britney Spears, V Festival, AC/DC and Leonard Cohen combined! The
most anticipated event of 2009, This Is It even outsold
the other first quarter favourite, U2, by almost 2 to 1.
ComScore's market statistics for the period confirm Seatwave's
position as Europe's leading ticket exchange with March unique
visitors of just over 1.9 million, well ahead of all secondary
market players and also the leading live event promoter, Live
Nation. Despite the launch of the Concert Promoters
Association ticket exchange and the Michael Jackson promoter, AEG,
touting another exchange, fans are increasingly choosing Seatwave
as the No.1 marketplace to buy and sell tickets.
Underpinning this phenomenal achievement is Seatwave's continued
focus on providing a safe and secure marketplace for fans to buy
and sell tickets. A message which was promoted during a
significant March advertising blitz on national radio and the
London Underground. While overall sales in Q1 2009 grew by a
sparkling 199%, Seatwave's gross margin grew at an amazing 301%
over the same period demonstrating the increasing benefits of
market leadership in this sector.
This exceptional growth trend is mirrored across Europe with
Seatwave reporting ticket sales in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands
and Spain up a staggering 401% over the past year.
Commenting on the figures, Joe Cohen, Founder and CEO of
Seatwave, said:
"Seatwave's exponential growth shows that our focus on helping
fans buy and sell tickets is the winning approach in this
space. The recent Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen
ticket scandals underscore the moral failings of the live event
industry and reinforce our commitment to make sure fans are
properly protected and get the best prices in the secondary
market. Our Q1 results have shown that the trust of our
customers is a key element in our market winning strategy".