LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Live Nation Entertainment has pacted with retail behemoth Wal-mart to offer tickets to concerts and events to customers at approximately 500 of the retailers' locations.
The deal will see Wal-Mart rolling out the ticket operation in cities around the U.S., including major markets such as Chicago and Los Angeles over the next few months, Bloomberg reported.
News of the deal was first announced by Live Nation Entertainment Chairman Irving Azoff while he was speaking during a panel discussion at the NBA Technology Summit in Dallas on Feb. 12.
“Tickets can be purchased for community, sporting, and concert events with the help of Walmart associates at registers in the store Entertainment department. We look forward to sharing more information in the future about this partnership." Azoff said, during the panel discussion.
This deal isn't Azoff's first experience in working with the retail giant and several of his management clients such as The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac have released albums directly through exclusive deals with Wal-Mart, skipping the traditional distribution chain for recorded music.
Wal-Mart might also help to fill in some of the holes left in the brick and mortar ticket retail world by the closure of more traditional outlets such as Tower Records that had formerly served as retail outlets for Ticketmaster. Live Nation already retails event tickets through a partnership with the video rental chain Blockbuster. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
