Ticketmaster was founded in 1976 and went public in 1996 with a market value of $2.8 billion. Ticketmaster has acquired several businesses throughout its history, including Ticketron, a digital ticket agency; TicketWeb Inc, an online ticket vendor for clubs and venues; Front Gate Tickets, a music festival ticketing technology; Strobe Labs, a music marketing platform; TicketHour, a sports. Ticketmaster was founded in 1976 by a computer programmer called Peter Gadwa, a box office specialist called Albert Leffler alongside Gordon Gun III, Dan Reeter, Jerry Nelson, and Thomas Hart Jr. Its first location was in Phoenix Arizona where it sold hardware and licensed computer programs for ticketing systems.

< Talk:Ticketmaster

Jerry Nelson Ticketmaster Keywords: jerry, jerry lee lewis, jerry heil, jerry maguire, jerry lewis, jerry nadler, jerry seinfeld, jerry adriano, Photogallery Jerry. Founders: Albert Leffler, Peter Gadwa, Jerry Nelson Area served: Worldwide Key people: Michael Rapino (CEO), Jared Smith (President of Ticketmaster Global), Mark Yovich (President of Ticketmaster International), Amy Howe (President of Ticketmaster North America).

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Artist Perception

The ticketmaster vs artist feud cannot be understated. Pearl Jam eventually became involved in the Ticketmaster flap as a result of a series in the LA Times. Investigatie reporter Chuck Philips wrote of series of investigative articles in 1991 about Ticketmaster that revealed its monopolistic nature. These in connection with the work of long-time Washington staffer John Edgell and the help of musical group Pearl Jam, who filed an anti-trust complaint, first disclosed int he LA Times, prompted Congressional hearings ^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6].

The Real History of Ticketmaster Founding, from Gordon M. Gunn, III, the entrepreneur who put the whole business package together, the risk capital, the venture capital, the hardware, recruited the software and firmware developers, filed the original articles of incorporation: In 1974, Gordon Gunn was a DEC computer equipment dealer for Arizona and New Mexico. Albert Leffler's wife is the sister of Gordon's oldest friend, Norman C. Peyton, then of El Paso, Texas. Albert and his wife were living in Tempe, and Gordon was living in Phoenix, AZ, so they got together socially. Albert Leffler was an intern in Auditorium Management at Arizona State University, specifically Grady Gammage Auditorium, which was using an HP based computerized ticketing system developed by Bill Bliss. Gordon was looking for software development opportunities for DEC hardware, and Albert saw a need for an improved ticketing system. Albert had the ticketing expertise, and came up with the name TicketMaster. Over several months, Albert began writing specifications for the software, and Gordon Gunn recruited the software developer, Peter T. Gadwa, and the developer of the smart ticketing terminals Thomas W. Hart, Jr. Peter and Tom both were amenable to working 'on the come' as there was no capital. Peter Gadwa was a grad student in computer science at ASU, and was introduced to Gordon by the department head who (ASU) also was a DEC hardware customer of Gordon's. Gordon set out to find risk capital, then venture capital. The risk capital came from Lester Bernstein, a retired retail merchant from Rhode Island. Lester's money paid for the development computer and some small expenses. Gordon continued to search for venture capital, and over a 6 month period found Charles H. Hamby, Jr., a semi-retired CEO whose company was Computer Mailing Consultants of America (CMCA), who lived in Phoenix. Charles Hamby recruited two other wealthy friends of his, Jerry Nelson and Cecil Crawford to share the venture, and it was incorporated as TicketMaster Corporation in Arizona in 1976. The founders were divided into 'founders' and 'financiers.' The founders group were: Gordon M. Gunn, III, Albert I. Leffler, Peter T. Gadwa, and Thomas W. Hart, Jr. The financier group was Charles H. Hamby, Jr., Cecil Crawford, and Jerry Nelson. The financiers held 80% of the stock, and the founders collectively held 20%. Lester Bernstein was bought out at par by the financiers. The original officers and directors were Charles Hamby, President and CEO, Gordon M. Gunn, III Executive Vice President and COO, and Cecil Crawford, Treasurer. Al Leffler, Pete Gadwa and Tom Hart were listed as V.P.'s and directors. By that time, Peter had finished a working software package, and Tom Hart had finished the intelligent ticketing terminals and Dian ticket printers. The first commercial system was installed in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1976, and the first commercial ticket ever sold by TicketMaster was to an Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) concert at Johnson Gymnasium at the University of New Mexico. That ticket was purchased by Gordon M. Gunn, III, is still owned by him, and is not for sale. The second community served was El Paso, Texas using a dedicated telephone line from the El Paso terminals to the computer in Albuquerque. Gordon began marketing in Houston and New Orleans, forging parterships with D. H. Holmes and Foley's Department Stores, but was forced out of the company before they were installed. A rift with the financiers early in 1977 forced Gordon Gunn and Tom Hart out of the corporation, as the financier group became woefully undercapitalized and unable to fulfill their verbal commitment to the founders group. Al Leffler and Pete Gadwa managed to stay on as employees, and the original financier group managed to find an angel in 1978, Jay Pritzker of Chicago, who bought everybody out. Al Leffler and Pete Gadwa apparently lost their original equity, but both made satisfactory arrangements with the new owners and stayed on for the duration. Al Leffler holds employee badge number 1, and at last report was still with the company. All this can be verified by Albert Leffler, Peter Gadwa, and Tom Hart, all are current residents of Arizona. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gordon Gunn (talk • contribs) 05:18, 22 March 2012 (UTC)

References

^Philips, Chuck (May 17, 1991). 'Ticket Flap: What Price Convenience? : Entertainment: A host of service fees, surcharges and taxes is riling concert-goers--and lawmakers'. LA Times. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
^Philips, chuck (February 7, 1995). 'Congress May Get Tickets Measure : Pop music: Spurred by Pearl Jam's crusade, the bill would require ticket vendors to disclose fees'. LA Times. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
^Philips, Chuck (June 30 1994). 'Pearl Jam, Ticketmaster and Now Congress: America's biggest band sent shock waves through the music business when it filed a complaint with the Justice Department about Ticketmaster. Now, Congress is holding a hearing. How'd it all get so far?'. LA Times. Retrieved 22 July 2012.Check date values in: |date= (help)
^Philips, Chuck (June 8, 1994). 'Pearl Jam vs. Ticketmaster: Choosing Sides : Legal file: The pop music world is divided over the Seattle band's allegations, which led to a Justice Department investigation into possible anti-competitive practices in the ticket distribution industry'. LA Times. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
^Philips, Chuck (June 17, 1995). 'COLUMN ONE : The Ticket King's Path to Power : As Pearl Jam just learned, Ticketmaster's Fred Rosen gets what he wants. His tactics have earned him some foes, but even critics admit he has transformed the industry. Now he's eyeing new realms'. LA Times. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
^Philips, Chuck. 'A Tangle Over Tickets : Ticketmaster, Target of Lawsuits, Says It Offers Broad Service'. LA.'. Retrieved 22 July 2012.

I can confirm the details provided by Gordon