LiveDB

Some months ago I had an idea about a web site that looked pretty decent to me. So I went ahead and registered two domain names in case it ever got implemented. Four months ago there was some innovation contest in Greece and I submitted my idea as a proposal. I wanted to talk to others about it, but I couldn’t since I was in the contest.

Now that I was informed that I didn’t make it to the next round and I am out of the contest, I am free to describe this idea here. I think the idea is good and I am sad to be out of the contest, but on the other hand I am glad that there were at least 10 better ideas than mine :-)

I don’t have the time and resources to attempt implementing something like this, so if you like the idea feel free to go ahead and take a shot at it. I will be glad to contribute the domain name(s) and any ideas.

The project is called LiveDB.

LiveDB is a global historical database of all live concerts by all music groups that ever took place, plus something more on the business side. LiveDB aims to achieve for live performances what IMDB achieved for movies.

There will be an entry for each and every live performance of a group, that will contain the basics (place, date), the list of performers, the song list and of course comments from viewers, photos and videos. This, among else, will create a huge “historical database” that will contain information for all live performances of every group, the live performances an artist contributed to, “Most-Played-Live” song lists, etc.

Business-wise the project will initially start by giving visitors the opportunity to buy CDs/DVDs containing live performances and also tickets for upcoming concerts.

But the big deal is not about selling CDs/DVDs and tickets for upcoming concerts. The big deal is what I call “Ticket Pre-Registration”, TPR for short. TPR applies to concerts that have not been scheduled yet. TPR is a service that will allow the music industry to plan tours more efficiently and at the same time allow buyers to view their favorite artists perform live at more reasonable prices.

Here’s an example of how this works:
Say I want to see Madonna perform live in Athens. I enter LiveDB, choose Athens from the available locations, choose Madonna from the available artists and then do a TPR for two tickets at 100 euros (for both tickets).
Doing a TPR means I have to give my credit card number but I won’t be charged anything. I will be charged only if and when a concert of Madonna takes place in Athens.
Another user might TPR for 10 tickets at 400 euros, someone else for one ticket at 30 euros, a great Madonna fan for one ticket at 150 euros, etc.

Now the company that takes care of Madonna’s tour has a very clear indication of what the demand is for a live show in Athens, and has a committing statement from several thousands of people that they are going to buy tickets at given prices. The company then runs some software over the TPRs and sees that if it grants all TPRs with average ticket price over 25 euros it will sell 19835 tickets beforehand and make around 800K euros, beforehand. The moment the company says “OK we will do Madonna in Athens” the next moment 800K euros are cashed in.

That’s good news because the company has a guarantee that the Athens’ show is not going to be a financial disaster. Moreover, based on the TPR demand the company can estimate that with post-TPR tickets priced at 60 euros it will make at least another 20.000 tickets and thus also be able to pick the best location to host the show and of course make a realistic budget for advertising the show.

The whole idea of Ticket Pre-Registration bears great similarities to the stock trading. A user that is moderately interested in a Madonna show does a TPR at 30 euros per ticket. Another one that is a huge fan of Madonna does a TPR for 200 euros. She dies to see Madonna perform live and she’d rather spend 200 euros in Athens than fly to London and see the show there.

As you saw in the example, the tour organizing company may not grant all TPRs or might use more complex criteria like decide on a post-TPR price that will maximize income if TPRs are granted only when complicated formulas are satisfied. Here is an example:

N = Number of tickets in TPR
V = TPR_Total_Value/N = TPR Average ticket price
PP = Post-TPR Ticket Price
X = N*(PP-V)

Possible Rule:
TPR is granted if X is less than 120 euros and (PP-V) is less than 30.

"X" is the profit an individual has by purchasing tickets through TPR (might be negative for huge fans). So if the PP is 70 euros I might get two tickets at 41 euros, but not 100 tickets. You get the idea.
LiveDB could even create merchant accounts that have different criteria applied to them. If I am a merchant I might want to TPR 5000 tickets at 30 euros. That’s 150.000 euros upfront cash. Merchant gets the tickets and then has to find a way to sell those at whatever price makes him a healthy net profit. Everyday business, but tour company gets cash upfront.

The LiveDB site might even act as a Ticket-Exchange board where merchants can sell tickets and users can bid for tickets, with LiveDB taking a tiny fraction for each successful transaction.

What do you think of this idea? Could it be made to work? If not, why?

Thanks for your time!

P.S: The domain names I have are LiveDB.net and LiveDB.org. The .com domain was taken but the one I got are pretty neat I think.