Meet the team

Quite simply, there is nothing convenient about “convenience” charges. As music fans and avid concert-goers, Iain Bluett and Jamie Dwyer made it their mission to provide ticketing for events without the costly fees charged by the other major companies.

The two entrepreneurs reasoned that if service fees were lowered, advance ticket sales would increase. Keeping in line with this strategy, Ticket Alternative was launched in 2004. Their first major event was a 2003 New Year's Eve party. Promoters in the area took note of the new affordable ticketing service, and soon venues were lining up as clients.

Just three years later, Ticket Alternative expanded into an international venture opening an office in Tottenham, just outside London. The home office handles thousands of events across the nation, prints over 600,000 tickets per month and is quickly becoming one of the largest event wristbands suppliers in the US. Their dedication to top notch customer service has attracted a wide range of clients, from beer festivals to ballet recitals, in nearly every state. The UK office prints millions of tickets and wristbands for distribution across the UK annually.

“We receive calls from venues that had used other ticketing companies in the past,” says Bluett, “and they are eager to switch to Ticket Alternative. They appreciate the extra effort we make to promote their events and make tickets affordable. The purchase process shouldn't leave a bad taste on your month before you go to the event. That should be the easy bit!”

Both event organizers and event patrons benefit from the low costs. There are no set-up fees for printing tickets or for selling tickets online. In fact, clients set and retain 100 per cent of the ticket price! That's a deal unprecedented in the ticket business.

“Our goal here is to sell tickets,” Bluett continues. “Our profit depends on that small service charge, so we do everything in our power, from increasing traffic to our web site and our client's web sites to mailing out newsletters each week to hundreds of thousands, to get those tickets sold! With the proliferation of social networking, we're able to promote our clients' events in so many ways.” (#tktalt)

For such a young company, Ticket Alternative's exponential growth is certainly impressive and inspiring. Recent technological advances have introduced a variety of new services to improve the customer experience and provide flexibility for clients. Integration with 3rd party platforms like Facebook only serve to help our clients sell more tickets, and give them more tools. The company has made the Inc 5000 list of fastest growing private US companies for the past three years.

Several high-profile signings include The Black Cat and Rock and Roll Hotel in Washington DC, The Atlanta Food and Wine Festival, The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, The Atlanta Botanical Gardens and The Frederick J. Brown Amphitheatre, in Atlanta, GA, along with the AEG/Jannus Live in St. Petersburg FL, Theatrical Outfit and Ring of Honor Wrestling.

For more information about what Ticket Alternative can offer your venue or event, please browse through the web site or give us a call and ask to speak with a new account representative.

• Ticket Alternative - ticketing software & services.
• TA Ticket Printing - custom ticket printing.
• Ticket Alternative UK Ltd - ticket printing & event wristbands.
• EventWristbands.com - plastic and Tyvek event wristbands.