67: An Exciting Renaissance is Coming! With Maureen Andersen

We are excited to be speaking to a rockstar in the ticketing industry today! Maureen Andersen, the CEO of INTIX (International Ticketing Association), is joining us! Maureen has done everything imaginable within the ticketing industry and is very well-known and respected for her insight and perspective.

In this episode, Maureen shares her story and explains what it takes to ensure that the show goes on, no matter what. She also discusses the impact of COVID on live entertainment and shares her optimism and hopes for what’s to come. We hope you enjoy our conversation with her!

Maureen Andersen’s bio:

Maureen Andersen, as President & CEO of the International Ticketing Association (INTIX), has clear goals: 

Growing multi-national membership; delivering ongoing superior learning and professional development opportunities to members and the industry; developing and nurturing strategic relationships; increasing the INTIX brand recognition; and executing the Board of Director’s strategic plan. She is deeply committed to advancing the work and the professionalism of fan and patron engagement through ticketing, marketing, and customer service innovations and best practices. Maureen brings a wealth of ticketing and live entertainment experience to INTIX, having worked with organizations as diverse and extensive as AudienceView, BroadwaySF, Paciolan, and The Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Maureen is a frequent speaker at industry conferences, seminars, and workshops and has multiple published articles on industry issues. 

She is the recipient of several high-profile awards from INTIX, FutureTix, VenuesNow, and Northeastern Junior College.  

Show biz

From the age of nine, Maureen knew that she wanted to be in the world of live entertainment and show business. Growing up, she played in bands, sang in choirs, and acted in theater productions. 

Where it all started

In her junior year in college, Maureen was put into the box office of the university’s theatre for a work-study program because she could type. That was where it all started. She realized that she would manage to support herself with a career in ticketing because she had the head for it, learned quickly, and understood what she needed to do.

The Denver Center for the Performing Arts

Maureen spent 23 years working at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. She got to sit in all the chairs, from ticket agent to answering the telephones to the subscription department up to becoming Director of Ticketing and Treasurer. 

Very little time off

Working in the ticketing business has been a bit like running away with the circus for Maureen because she is always busy, gets no weekends, and has very little time off.

A horror story

Maureen experienced a real-life horror story when a man had a heart attack and dropped dead in the sound lock (the two doors between the lobby and the theater). People approached her in the ticket office afterward, asking if they could move into his seats.

Chaos and stress

Every day in the theater is a little chaotic and stressful because you have to change in the middle of it, go and meet the public, and then go to what is considered the live moment.

Maureen Andersen’s transition to taking the lead at INTIX

Maureen went from working at the Denver Center to working at a series of ticketing providers. Then, she got recruited by INTIX when they were searching for a CEO. She feels that after sitting in all the chairs and doing ticketing for pretty much everything, she brings something unique to INTIX. 

COVID

When the coronavirus pandemic happened, Maureen faced a crisis due to all the uncertainty and not knowing what to do when most of the people she served, from vendors to members to people, were forced to shut down and leave their jobs. 

Maureen Andersen’s epiphany

Maureen realized that she needed to be authentic and place herself in other people’s shoes to understand what they needed and how she could help them. What came to her was that they needed a place to talk, commiserate, and deal with what was going on. She also realized that she and her team were a lot stronger, smarter, and more nimble, skilled, and resilient than she thought. 

Un-gating

Maureen saw that people needed a community and a way to process what was happening to them. Along with her board of directors and staff, Maureen decided to un-gate parts of INTIX, which is a membership organization, and let people get involved at a deeper level to make sure that everyone remained connected.

Learning

Everyone in the industry started learning from each other because there was no playbook.

Broadway

Broadway is due to start the rolling process of re-opening in mid-September. Maureen thinks that people will have to wear masks to Broadway shows and continue wearing them well into the runs of the shows. 

Travel

Most Americans do not like being told what to do. So, Maureen feels that we will most likely see a similar mish-mash dynamic to that with masking and vaccinations when it gets to whether or not the borders will open and whether or not people will be allowed to travel. 

The live-streaming component

Maureen believes that the live-streaming component, as well as the repackaging, value-adding, and upselling that occur due to live-streaming, are all here to stay. 

Live-stream theaters

Many theaters are going through renovations right now. They are building live-streaming infrastructures inside the theaters to make sure that they can live-stream.

A recent UK survey

A recent UK survey revealed that 92% of all musicians believe that live-streaming concerts and repackaging them to sell afterward will become part of their revenue streams in the future.

Adapting

Even though people will have to adapt to the new technologies for theater productions, Maureen feels that they will be happy to do so.

Early 2022

Maureen predicts that in early 2022, we will have a glut of entertainment and event options available. The various options will all happen simultaneously, which could cause some issues with filling the audiences over time. 

Maureen Andersen: Exciting times are coming!

All the vendors and providers who use this time of isolation to fix their existing products and create new ones are set for success when the theaters reopen. Maureen thinks all of that will lead to an exciting renaissance of the new songs, musicals, dances, and operas that are coming out.  

Customer experience

When the theaters reopen, the big productions will most likely capitalize on the initial demand. However, Maureen is hopeful that things will settle down into a more reasonable pricing structure for live performances, and theaters will start to partner with their customers once the initial bubble has gone up and out. 

January 2022

From January 18th to the 21st of next year, Maureen and INTIX will be appearing, live and in-person, at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando, Florida.

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