LOS ANGELES, March 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- 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 VetTix 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, 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, visit www.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.
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/live-nation-becomes-top-ticket-donor-to-the-military-and-veteran-community-300806662.html
SOURCE Live Nation Entertainment