Ticketmaster has found itself under a great deal of scrutiny over the past six months—from the highest level of American politics to its customers—for failures in its ticketing system. And now it's looking for someone to face the music on its social media channels.
Taylor Swift fans faced chaos when trying to get their hands on a pass for the singer's Eras Tour, which was announced last November. A series of issues from site crashes to cancellations of general sales lead to a senate hearing in February 2023.
The likes of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made calls to "break up" Ticketmaster and its parent group Live Nation, saying the group is a monopoly with too much power over the entertainment ticket industry.
Now, Ticketmaster wants a new director of social media to weather such storms in the future and improve communication with customers.
In a job posting to LinkedIn, Ticketmaster said the ideal candidate would—perhaps unsurprisingly—need to be "resilient". The posting continues that the behavioral skills needed for the job also include bravery and the ability to "think big, framing designs in the context of the broader fan experience, and comfortable diving deep into the details".
The basics of the job cover strategy, team management, creative process management and working with external parties to ensure campaigns are rolled out smoothly.
The person Ticketmaster is looking for needs to be "fan-centric" with an understanding of "how to speak to fans". The candidate will also need to enjoy working in a "fast-paced and ever-changing environment" with at least 10 years of experience in social media or influencing to draw from.
The new hire will be paid six figures to take up their post on the front line, communicating with fans from the announcement of new events through to dealing with complaints at the other end. The salary range for the role is anywhere between $140,000 and $175,000.
However, the employer is keen to add this figure could vary depending on where the candidate is based as well as their education, experience, expected quality and quantity of work, travel and pay alignment with other colleagues.
Ticketmaster describes itself on LinkedIn as giving "millions of fans – worldwide – fair and easy access to the biggest and best in live entertainment". Its values, it says, comprise reliability, teamwork, belonging and integrity, adding: "If you’re passionate about live entertainment like we are, and you want to work at a company dedicated to helping millions of fans experience it, we want to hear from you."
Ticketmaster did not respond when approached by Fortune for comment.
Fury from The Cure
Another criticism of Ticketmaster is its hidden fees, which has incurred the wrath of President Biden.
Artists are similarly trying to find loopholes to expensive tickets, with The Cure keeping their prices deliberately low to make their gigs more accessible. The band, known for hits such as Friday I’m in Love and Just Like Heaven, tried to avoid ticket scalping by selling seats for as little as $20 and limiting sales to verified fans. After tickets for the U.S. tour went on sale Wednesday, some fans reported paying more in fees than for their seats.
Ticketmaster's social media team had to scramble a response to frontman Robert Smith, who said he was "sickened" by the "fees debacle". The singer secured a refund for fans following a discussion with the platform, and further money was returned to those who purchased tickets through Ticketmaster's Face Value Exchange platform.
The Cure Face Value Exchange for OVER ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS PLUS FEES???!!! #TheCure #Ticketmaster #TicketSales #EventSales #Scalping pic.twitter.com/eeyGjYbPSF
— THE CURE FOREVER (@TheCureForever_) March 17, 2023
The service is meant to see fans swapping tickets at the original price, however some buyers reported asking prices of more than $1,000 dollars. Ticketmaster responded on Twitter: "Refunds are in progress to fans for any costs over original ticket price. We stand with the band on their decision to use a Face Value Exchange and it will be enforced on our marketplace."
