Live Nation has donated over two million tickets to the military community through its partnership with the Veteran Tickets Foundation (Vet Tix).
The partnership started in 2014 and Live Nation has continued to donate tickets to the military community. Live Nation and Ticketmaster have donated tickets to performances in country, pop, rock, hip-hop and other music genres.
As part of Live Nation’s commitment to the scheme, Ticketmaster created custom ticketing software to simplify the Vet Tix platform for veterans, artists, promoters and venues.
Vet Tix is a US non-profit organisation that offers free event tickets to those currently serving in the military, all honourably discharged veterans, immediate family of service members that have died in the line of duty, as well as current and retired first responders.
The charity was founded in 2008 and aims to give back to those that have served by distributing tickets to sporting events, concerts, performing arts, educational and family activities.
Michael Rapino, chief executive and president of Live Nation, said: “Giving veterans the opportunity to experience the power of live music has been an honour. Live Nation is very proud of our partnership with Vet Tix and we’ll continue to support however we can.”
Those eligible can create a Vet Tix account for free and once their service is verified they can set their event interests. Users are then notified when tickets to an event that meets their criteria are available in the local area. Members can then request tickets, often through a lottery, and if chosen will receive tickets through Vet Tix.
In addition to ticket donations, Live Nation also supports veterans through its Hero Nation initiative. This is an employee resource group for military veteran employees, which is dedicated to fostering a supportive and progressive environment for their employees that served.
Michael A. Focareto III, US Navy veteran, CEO and founder of Vet Tix, said: “The support and passion for the Vet Tix mission by the Live Nation and Ticketmaster teams has been vital to our success and return to normal for so many.
“The more than two 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 challenges related to their service such as PTSD, isolation, and community reintegration which leads to positive experiences by attending concerts with family and friends. We can’t thank them enough.”