bfloxng
Refugee
The ticket distributor is determined by the venue, plain and simple. Venues have contracts with distributors. TM has contracts with most arenas in the US, and many of the stadiums. Live Nation actually owns and/or has contracts with a majority of US Ampitheatres. Tickets.com has contracts with just a handful (Buffalo HSBC Arena being one of them).
However, presales CAN be handled by the promotor or even the band, irrespective of the venue, in this case Live Nation. Thus, I would expect Live Nation to handle the presale in the US. The tickets not allocated to the presale would then be sold by the contracted ticketing distributor, likely TM.
Live Nation only recently upgraded its capacity to do full-scale ticket distribution and actually compete with TM, with whom it plans to merge. The merger is currently on hold pending government intervention and hearings.
In sum, expect Live Nation to do the presale and TM to do the general sale, at least for most venues, unless a particular venue does not have a contract with TM or if that contract has expired.
However, presales CAN be handled by the promotor or even the band, irrespective of the venue, in this case Live Nation. Thus, I would expect Live Nation to handle the presale in the US. The tickets not allocated to the presale would then be sold by the contracted ticketing distributor, likely TM.
Live Nation only recently upgraded its capacity to do full-scale ticket distribution and actually compete with TM, with whom it plans to merge. The merger is currently on hold pending government intervention and hearings.
In sum, expect Live Nation to do the presale and TM to do the general sale, at least for most venues, unless a particular venue does not have a contract with TM or if that contract has expired.