MANILA, Philippines – Ticketmaster will soon enter the Philippine market after SM Prime Holdings Incorporated (SMPH) announced a partnership with the global ticketing giant, the Sy family’s live events firm announced on Friday, May 22.

Through the partnership, SM’s ticketing platform SM Tickets will now transition to SM Ticketmaster, which aims to combine Ticketmaster’s global ticketing technology with SMPH’s local operations experience.

SMPH president Jeffrey Lim said that the partnership aims to make the ticketing experience more reliable, secure, and convenient for customers.

“Through this partnership, we are combining Ticketmaster’s global ticketing technology with our local operating expertise to support the next phase of live entertainment in the Philippines,” he said.

The Sy family’s entertainment and leisure arm said SM Ticketmaster will partner with third-party venues, as well as serve as the ticketing platform for SMPH’s venues, which includes the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena, the SMDC Festival Grounds, and the SM Seaside Cebu Arena set to open this year.

Jim Kotsonis, Ticketmaster’s regional vice president for the APAC region, said that SM Ticketmaster will give fans a simpler way to purchase their tickets and organizers stronger tools to manage events.

“Fans in the Philippines are showing strong and growing demand for live experiences, from major international tours to sports and local shows. For Ticketmaster, this is an important new market and a natural next step in our international expansion,” he said.

Some international acts that are set to perform at SMPH venues this year include Laufey, ITZY, Kodaline, Charlie Puth, LANY, Jason Mraz, and EXO.

Ticketmaster’s entry into the Philippine market comes after a federal jury found its parent firm Live Nation Entertainment held an illegal monopoly over ticketing services in the United States.

The jury also found that Live Nation illegally bundled promotion services with venues it owns in order to eliminate competition. (READ: What is the ‘dynamic pricing’ that has angered Oasis fans?)

State attorneys general have formally requested a court-ordered divestiture of Ticketmaster to correct Live Nation’s illegal monopolization of the American live music industry. – Rappler.com