IMP Taps Ticketfly At Merriweather

WASHINGTON, D.C. (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) – I.M.P.'s Merriweather Post Pavilion, one of the few remaining independently operated amphitheatres in the nation, will start the 2010 concert season with a new online ticketing provider, Ticketfly.

The first shows selling through Ticketfly will be the May 1st My Morning Jacket and the May 16th Sugarland shows. Both will go on sale Friday, February 26 at 10am.

Independent promoter I.M.P. operates both the Merriweather Post Pavillian and Washington D.C.'s 9:30 Club, one of the top club venues in the United States by ticket sales, as well as producing the Virgin Mobile Festival. I.M.P.'s chairman Seth Hurwitz was an outspoken critic of the merger between Live Nation and Ticketmaster, testifying against the deal in front of a congressional subcommittee last year in addition to helping to organize the Ticketdisaster coalition, which sought to block he merger.

“We started selling 9:30 Club tickets through Ticketfly at the end of last year,” said Hurwitz. “They’ve had zero learning curve, and sold a ton of tickets, so we’re giving them the next shot. We were able to work out lower service charges, and no extra charge for printing at home, which was driving everyone nuts and rightly so. Seems like the sky's the limit with these guys."

Hurwitz anticipates that the deal will mean cheaper tickets for the Merriweather as there will no longer be a charge to print tickets at home and service fees on tickets will be 30-percent lower than they were previously, Hurwitz said.

Ticketfly is exclusively focused on live music promotion, and plans to create an online community where customers can buy tickets but also discover new artists and events. In addition to show information, Ticketfly’s Event pages feature artist images, bios, streaming audio and video links and artist website and social media links. The pages integrate with Facebook and Twitter, allowing consumers to invite their friends to concerts through their social networks. Ticketfly is headed by former senior management of TicketWeb, the Internet’s first ticketing company. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers