Facebook is already the place where many netizens go to find out about concerts and sporting events, express their interest in them, and chat with other people about them. Soon, the social media site will also become the place where people can buy tickets, thanks to a new agreement with Ticketmaster.
Before April comes to a close, Facebook will roll out Ticketmaster integration, according to a report from Buzzfeed. While Ticketmaster's own site is fine and dandy, the company is about to meet its consumers where they spend much, if not most, of their digital down time.
"By putting the ability to buy tickets directly within Facebook we hope that we're going to provide a more seamless purchase experience and sell more tickets," said Dan Armstrong, VP and GM of distributed commerce at Ticketmaster.
Ticketmaster's Facebook integration is arriving on the heels of news that the ticket outlet was launching a set of software development kits and application programming interfaces through its new site for developers.
For Facebook's part, it is gaining yet another high-profile affiliate and the money that comes with it. Ticketmaster will be reaching a larger audience, while Facebook will be taking a little off the top and keeping users from straying out beyond the social network's city limits.
"Millions of people on Facebook connect with their favorite bands, artists and causes to find out about events happening in their community," a Facebook spokesperson told Fortune. "We've heard feedback from venues and artists that Facebook is an important platform for them to update and connect with fans. We're excited to help partners like Ticketmaster sell more tickets via Facebook and to make ticket purchasing easier and faster for people."
Ticket sales are just the latest in Facebook's move to lease land on its social network to other companies. The social media group has been working on integrating customer service tools into its popular Messenger app. It has also been attempting to offer local news content, much like it does with hosting ads on its servers, via its Canvas platform, instead of redirecting clicks.
