????那是在1995年，珍珠果醬樂隊（Pearl Jam）的艾迪?維達在搖滾名人堂的典禮上對著觀眾講話。他指著臺下某個地方咧嘴一笑：“說起爭吵，有些人自作聰明，把我們的座位安排在Ticketmaster的桌子旁邊。估計今晚到最后，我們會為了搶吃的打起來。”人群中爆發出一陣哄笑。

????在那幾個月之前，維達的珍珠果醬樂隊與有著37年歷史的票務公司Ticketmaster進行了正面交鋒。他們認為這家公司控制了業內太多的業務，要求對后者進行反壟斷調查。樂隊表示票價過高，而Ticketmaster利用自己獨家提供服務之機，提出了過多的不合理要求。他們認為，這種行為已經構成了壟斷。

????經過一年的調查，美國司法部（U.S. Justice Department）停止了行動。當時的美國司法部長珍妮特?雷諾表示，司法部“發現有新的企業進入了這個市場”，票務市場已經有了足夠的競爭性。Ticketmaster和珍珠果醬樂隊就此鳴金收兵。

????近20年過去了，Ticketmaster如今控制了主要場館超過80%的初級票務市場。【它的美國同行，易趣（eBay）旗下的StubHub，則控制了二級票務市場（轉售市場）。】票價變得比以往更加高昂，而預售過程也越來越復雜。以今年秋天賈斯汀?比伯在田納西州的演唱會為例，據報道，只有7%的票能夠在初級市場上買到，而剩余的票都留給了粉絲俱樂部、信用卡會員促銷活動和轉售商。可想而知，粉絲們有多么憤怒。（Ticketmaster并沒有應要求就此事發表評論。）

????自上世紀90年代以來，互聯網的興起讓許多行業變得普及起來。不過令人驚訝的是，活動票務市場仍然屬于頑固派。不過這種現象也許持續不了多久。進入互聯網的門檻很低，小型公司因此受益，他們專攻巨頭們的薄弱領域。假以時日，大衛也能擊倒巨人歌利亞。

????初級票務公司Ticketfly的創始人安德魯?德雷斯金說：“Ticketmaster并不了解社交網絡。如果我們能讓粉絲幫忙宣傳推銷，那我們就贏了。” 德雷斯金上世紀90年代率先開始經營在線票務業務。2000年，他以3,500萬美元的價格把自己的公司TicketWeb賣給了Ticketmaster。不過互聯網一直在演變，德雷斯金于2008年又創立了新公司，經營改變人們網上互動形式的移動、社交和大數據領域。

????Ticketfly擁有合作場館的獨家售票權，他們的票價更低，還有很出眾的社交能力。這家公司的目標是拉攏場館和推銷商，讓他們遠離Ticketmaster。迄今為止，它已經挖來了大約100家客戶，其中包括普利克內斯大獎賽（Preakness Stakes）、洛杉磯日落大道（L.A.'s Sunset Strip）的The Roxy劇場和Bell House和Brooklyn Bowl這樣的紐約場館。

????許多顧客感覺Ticketmaster和StubHub變得傲慢自滿起來。TickPick的創始人布雷特?戈德博格說：“如果我在這些公司管理運營，那么其中一個緊急任務就是樹立公司形象，提醒人們這里要以人為本。這兩家公司對于普通人而言可能都已經變得有些缺乏個性。”??????????

????It was 1995, and Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder was addressing the crowd at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. "Speaking of feisty, some smartass who arranged the tables put our table right next to Ticketmaster's table over here," he said, pointing and grinning as the audience erupted in laughter. "So I predict a food fight by the end of the evening."

????Several months prior, Vedder's band had gone head-to-head with the 37-year-old ticketing company, demanding (and receiving) an antitrust probe under the argument that Ticketmaster controlled too much of the business. The ticket prices were too high, Pearl Jam argued, and Ticketmaster made too many unreasonable demands around the exclusivity of its services. It was, they argued, a monopoly.

????After a year of investigation, the U.S. Justice Department dropped its inquiry. Then-U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno said the department "found that there were new enterprises coming into the arena" and that the ticketing business was sufficiently competitive. Ticketmaster and Pearl Jam lived to fight another day.

????Almost two decades later, Ticketmaster (LYV) controls more than 80% of primary ticketing at major venues. (U.S. peer StubHub, which is owned by eBay (EBAY), dominates the "secondary" ticketing market.) Prices are steeper than ever, and pre-sale practices are increasingly convoluted: this fall, for example, it was reported that just 7% of tickets for a Justin Bieber concert in Tennessee were made available on the primary market, with the rest reserved for fan clubs, credit card member promotions, and resellers. Fans, predictably, were enraged. (Ticketmaster did not respond to requests for comment.)

????The rise of the Internet has democratized many industries since the '90s, but event ticketing remains surprisingly resistant. That may not be the case for much longer. Smaller companies, empowered by the low barrier for entry on the Internet, are focusing on the giants' weakest areas. With time, a David may topple Goliath.

????"Ticketmaster doesn't understand the social web," says Andrew Dreskin, founder of primary ticket seller Ticketfly. "If we can harness the fans as ticket promoters, then we win." Dreskin, credited with selling the first ticket online in the '90s, sold his company TicketWeb to Ticketmaster for $35 million in 2000. But the Internet has since evolved, and Dreskin founded his new company in 2008 to leverage the mobile, social, and big data influences that are reshaping the way we interact online.

????Ticketfly, which has exclusive sales rights to the venues that partner with it, differentiates itself with its lower fees and social capabilities. The goal: woo venues and promoters away from Ticketmaster. To date, it has stolen some 100 clients, including the Preakness Stakes, The Roxy on L.A.'s Sunset Strip, and New York venues such as the Bell House and Brooklyn Bowl.

????Many buyers feel Ticketmaster and StubHub have become bloated and complacent. "If I were running ship at these companies, one urgent task would be to address the image, remind people there's a human element," says Brett Goldberg, founder of TickPick. "Both have probably become a little bit faceless to the general population."??????????