Industry News

Amazon Tickets recruits new head

Amazon Tickets has made one of its most significant appointments to date by recruiting former Warner Music and Live Nation executive Lawrence Peryer.

The ticketing arm of the online retail giant said it wanted to be “the world’s premier destination for purchasing tickets” in a series of job postings for roles based in North America and Europe reported by TicketTechNews towards the end of last year.

Peryer, according to Music Business Worldwide, has been appointed as director (tickets) and will be based in Seattle, Washington.

Peryer spent over seven years as president of Live Nation’s UltraStar Entertainment before joining Warner Music as chief executive, Artist Arena, in 2012. He became head of direct-to-consumer, WEA Global Consumer Sales & Marketing Group and was then promoted to executive vice-president of the division. He departed Warner last May to work as a consultant and producer.

Amazon Tickets, which has been headed by Amazon vice-president Ian Freed since last February, was launched in 2015. It continues to recruit in areas such as software and product management in Seattle and London as it pursues its goal of becoming one of the biggest players in the global ticketing sector.

“Our vision goes beyond just selling tickets as we aim to disrupt the entire live entertainment experience, including what happens before, during and after the show,” one posting reads. “The ticketing business is ripe for innovation and improvement, as much of the industry has not fundamentally changed since the 1970s.”