A LiveNation manager said Monday that using Ticketmaster is about as fun as online banking, while Ticketmaster’s “service fees” — which can be as high as $27 per ticket — are driving customers insane and must come down.
Such candid remarks from LiveNation.com’s Noah Maffitt at the San Francisco MusicTech Summit made the essential gathering a huge hit on the web and in-person. Held at the Hotel Kabuki, the thrice-a-year industry summit attracted hundreds of technologists, artists, and middlemen for eight hours of moderated talks. Among the meatiest panelist cuts: Musician Ben Folds, Tim Westergren of Oakland company Pandora, UC Berkeley‘s Dave Wessel, Rhapsody‘s Tim Quirk, and LiveNation.com’s forthright Maffitt.