LOS ANGELES (Mar 5, 2019) – Live Nation, the world’s leading live entertainment company, announced today it has donated over one million tickets to veterans since the kickoff of its partnership with the Veteran Tickets Foundation, also known as Vet Tix. Vet Tix is the number one nonprofit working to provide free tickets to currently serving military and veterans of all eras, and Live Nation is proud to have long been the organization’s top donor. Since 2014, Live Nation has gifted Vet Tix over $75 million in tickets, making Live Nation the top ticket donor to the veteran community at large.
“Live Nation is incredibly proud to be a partner of Vet Tix, and we’re honored to have helped over one million service members and their families create life-long memories together at our concerts and events,” said Michael Rapino, CEO and President, Live Nation Entertainment. “We know how powerful live music can be, and will continue doing everything we can to share those experiences with our veterans who have given so much.”
Live Nation and Ticketmaster, a subsidiary of Live Nation and the global market leader in ticketing, regularly donate tickets to country, pop, rock and hip-hop tours, sports and family entertainment, Broadway shows and more. As a part of Live Nation’s growing commitment to this initiative, Ticketmaster created custom ticketing software to improve Vet Tix’s platform. Launched in 2018, the new system simplifies the ticket donation process for artists, venues, theatres and clubs while also making it easier for vets, service members, and their families to see ticket availability in real time. The updated platform also made it easier than ever for other promoters and event owners to make tickets available to Vet Tix. Promoters and event owners interested in contributing tickets to the program should reach out to Brandi Shannon at bshannon@vettix.org.
“The support and passion for the Vet Tix mission by the Live Nation and Ticketmaster teams has been vital to our success” said Mike Focareto, CEO and Founder of Vet Tix. “The one million tickets donated by Live Nation translates into endless smiles and memories for VetTixers. In many cases, their support also assists veterans, service members and first responders in coping with their post-traumatic stress challenges which leads to positive experiences by attending concerts with family and friends. We can’t thank them enough.”
Vet Tix is a national non-profit, founded in 2008, whose mission is to secure and distribute tickets to sporting events, concerts, performing arts, educational and family activities across the nation to military and veteran families. Their goal is to help reduce stress, make events affordable, minimize post-traumatic stress, strengthen family bonds and encourage VetTixers to re-engage with local communities and American life. To date, Vet Tix has given out over 6 million tickets in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
To receive tickets, military personnel and veterans apply and are verified by a third party. Members can then set their event interests and are notified when tickets to an event meeting their criteria are available. Members then request tickets and Vet Tix distributes tickets at times using a lottery.
In addition to ticket donations, Live Nation strives to support veterans in a number of ways. Since 2017 the company has been an official partner of the veterans’ hiring organization Got Your 6, whose mission is to bridge the civilian-military divide by spreading awareness and fostering understanding about the contributions of our nation’s veterans. As a part of the partnership, Live Nation helped spearhead a fellowship program designed to help military alums build careers in the entertainment industry. Additionally, Live Nation recently launched Hero Nation, an internal program for veteran employees. This employee resource group is dedicated to fostering a supportive and progressive environment for the company’s U.S. military veteran employees and their families by focusing on education, networking, and career development opportunities.
About Live Nation Entertainment
Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) is the world’s leading live entertainment company comprised of global market leaders: Ticketmaster, Live Nation Concerts, and Live Nation Sponsorship. For additional information, visitwww.livenationentertainment.com.
About Veteran Tickets Foundation
Veteran Tickets Foundation (Vet Tix), a national
501(c)(3) nonprofit, provides free tickets to sporting events, concerts,
performing arts and family activities to currently serving military, National
Guard and Reserves, veterans of all eras, immediate family of those killed in
action, and VetTixers’ caregivers. Since 2008, Vet Tix has provided
approximately 6 million free event tickets to more than 1 million
members. In 2018 Vet Tix launched 1st Tix, which provides the same service
to our nation’s current and retired law enforcement officers, firefighters, and
EMTs. These events help veterans and first responders reduce stress, strengthen
family bonds, build lifelong memories, and encourage them to stay engaged with
American life and their local communities.Vet Tix spends over 95 percent of its
revenue on programs, ensuring that we give back to those who have given so
much. Visit VetTix.org and 1stTix.org to learn more, and follow
us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Live Nation U.S. Concerts Media Contacts:
Emily Bender, emilybender@livenation.com
Monique Sowinski, moniquesowinski@livenation.com
