What will ticketing look like after StubHub files for bankruptcy? It’s Time To Decide.

The world’s major event promoters and ticketing companies must work together now or the whole system will blow apart.

What happens when a worldwide industry which promotes and tickets every live event freezes because everything is cancelled for an indefinite time, starting tomorrow? What is the plan to refund the tickets sold, absorb the losses and maintain consumer confidence so the fans return when this public health crisis resolves?

I believe that StubHub, the company which was just acquired by Viagogo for $4 billion is on the verge of collapse. What I’m hearing suggests they’ll file a bankruptcy petition around April 15th. That makes sense. Ticket sales are on pause worldwide. No one knows when sports, concerts or theater will resume. Consumers are out of work. And, if you’re StubHub selling $5 billion of tickets a year and you are looking at having to refund that money, where’s it going to come from? Likely every reserve you had went toward the purchase of StubHub from eBay.

There’s an old saying about the process of going broke. It happens slowly at first, then all at once. The live entertainment industry is essentially bankrupt. But, true to its go big or go home nature, it skipped the slowly part. Due to COVID-19, everything from concerts to sports to theater all stopped at once. Billions of…