You can't disrupt Ticketmaster's service fees because it's the venues and the peformers that are also profiting from those service fees.
Apparently, Ticketmaster's business model is based on taking the negative public relations hit for charging higher prices on behalf of their customers.
If you create a startup called CheaperTickets.com with the noble intention of not charging those hated service fees, you won't get any customers. (Keep in mind it's the venues & the artists that are the real customers of Ticketmaster and not the ticket buyers). The venues want the lucrative cut of the service fees while Ticketmaster gladly takes the heat.
I don't know TM's numbers, but I know it is correct that processing fees are not always going 100% to the ticketing company. My company is in the music business and one of our products is for internal ticket sales. We collect fees on behalf of the seller. The sellers portion varies, but is usually about 75% of the fee - meaning that we, the processor, are only getting 25% of the fee that the customer sees.
Similarly, I've worked for an organization that charges a per ticket service fee. They take a 100% cut off this, when you consider their ticketing contract was negotiated as a fixed annual cost, not a per-ticket or %-of-revenue.
Apparently, Ticketmaster's business model is based on taking the negative public relations hit for charging higher prices on behalf of their customers.
If you create a startup called CheaperTickets.com with the noble intention of not charging those hated service fees, you won't get any customers. (Keep in mind it's the venues & the artists that are the real customers of Ticketmaster and not the ticket buyers). The venues want the lucrative cut of the service fees while Ticketmaster gladly takes the heat.
[1]http://www.laweekly.com/music/ticketmaster-and-servants-band...
[2]http://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1xlt0i/til_ti...