In today's pulse:

• 🎟️ Eventbrite Joins the FIX THE TIX Coalition

• 👩‍🏫 Summer Tour Ticketing Graded

• 📊 Getting a Grasp on GA4 Analytics

•  🎉 Automate Local Event Promotion

• 🏢 8 New Event Industry Marketing Jobs

🎟️ Eventbrite Joins the FIX THE TIX Coalition

30 prominent entertainment organizations including unions, performance organizations, independent venues, and event software companies have come together to urge congress to act to pass a slate of ticketing reforms that would protect the live events industry.

Having the buy-in of large event ticketing players like Eventbrite and DICE adds weight to the coalition’s efforts. Learn more about FIX THE TIX and add your own voice here.

👩‍🏫 Summer Tour Ticketing Graded

Most tours genuinely want the fans to have a great experience. But the secondary ticket resale market keeps getting in the way.

When tickets are sold below their perceived market value, they often end up in the hands of resellers, driving up prices for fans and causing disillusionment. The artists rarely benefit from this markup, but ticketing companies may if they get a cut of resales (like Ticketmaster now does in some cases).

ArtistVerified graded recent tour ticketing strategies and their outcomes:

Taylor Swift — The Eras Tour (Grade: D+) Taylor Swift, beloved by her fanbase, aimed to price tickets reasonably for her core audience. However, technological challenges and overwhelming demand led to many fans missing out on the "verified fan" primary sales, with brokers profiting from inflated prices.

Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band — Summer of 2023 World Tour (Grade: B) Bruce Springsteen, known for not pricing out his working-class fans, faced the reality of secondary market pricing. While brokers made money, it wasn't as lucrative as the Taylor Swift situation. Front-row tickets still came at a high cost.

The Cure — Shows of a Lost World Tour 2023 (Grade: A-) The Cure committed to affordable ticket pricing and transparency in fees. They actively worked to thwart resellers' control. This strategy resulted in lower ticket prices and happy fans.

The “Farewell” or is it “Fare Well” Tours (Grade: C-) Several rock icons embarked on farewell tours, often with high ticket prices. Fans, feeling somewhat exploited, began to resist. Some shows saw ticket price reductions, leaving empty seats and financially strained fans.

So, what can artists do to improve this situation?

Until laws change (see FIX THE TIX Coalition’s work), artists must focus on getting tickets directly to authenticated real fans. ArtistVerified published the article summarized here and they plan on tackling this problem. 🎵🎟️

📊 Getting a Grasp on GA4 Analytics

If you’re anything like me or the dozens of event organizers I talk with every month, you’re probably still not confident with your Google Analytics 4 (GA4) setup after they forced us all to switch from the old Universal Analytics (UA) setup.

For some of you, that might be some unwelcome news. Go check your anlaytics.google.com account… I’m sorry in advance.

Despite the transition, here are seven tips from Search Engine Journal to help you navigate this new landscape:

1. Understand the Shift: GA4 is different from UA, primarily due to changes in browsing behavior and privacy. Embrace the shift, as GA4 is designed for a multi-platform, privacy-conscious world.

2. Set Up Smartly: Ensure you've completed all the necessary steps for your GA4 setup. Check your Google Ads links, validate goal migrations, and bring UA events into GA4. The GA4 Setup Assistant is your friend.

3. Learn the Ropes: Invest time in understanding GA4 by exploring Google's Skillshop modules. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced user, these resources provide valuable insights.

4. Explore New Features: GA4 introduces several features not found in UA. Dive into Business Objectives, a customized home page, Analytics Intelligence, and more. Take advantage of predictive audiences and enhanced event measurement.

5. Customize Without Coding: GA4 allows event customization without coding, making it versatile for various needs. Create tailored reports and apply filters for business-specific insights.

6. Embrace Ads Integrations: GA4 offers robust audience-building capabilities for advertisers. Link your Google Ads accounts, capture conversions, and enhance your ad campaigns.

7. Grasp Data Thresholds: GA4 prioritizes user privacy. Understand reporting identity options, data thresholds, and Google Signals to ensure your reports align with privacy standards.

As GA4 evolves, stay tuned for more enhancements, especially in the Advertiser Workspace. Keep exploring and building your expertise in this powerful analytics tool. 📊📈👩‍💻

For in-depth insights and resources, read the full article by Ginny Marvin here.

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Meme of the Week

🏢 Entertainment Industry Communications and Marketing Jobs

We came across these cool live entertainment industry jobs that you or someone you know might be a good fit for!

Also, if you’re hiring please let us know so we can help you spread the word. It’s free!

Director of Marketing @ Sam Hill Entertainment in Richmond, VA (Remote)

Marketing Director @ Ambassador Theatre Group in San Antonio, TX

Marketing Director @ UAB Visual and Performing Arts in Birmingham, AL

Communications Coordinator @ UChicago Arts and The Logan Center in Chicago, IL

Learning and Outreach Manager @ GVSU Art Gallery in Allendale, MI

Amphitheater General Manager @ Devon Lakeshore Amphitheater in Decatur, IL

Director, Venue Operations @ Monumental Sports & Entertainment in Washington, DC

Director of External Events @ Jacobs Music Center in San Diego, CA

That’s It!

If you have anything interesting you’d like to share, we’d love to hear it! You can respond to this email or send a DM on LinkedIn: Craig Heron.

Thanks for reading, and see you next time!