Ticketmaster started life selling ticketing machines to arenas, not tickets to fans. Organized in 1976, it switched in 1982 to running the ticket sales itself, and the fees made it the dominant name at box offices across America. By its 1996 IPO, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen sat on the board, and insiders would still own 68.4 percent of the shares after the offering. Fans grumbled about the service charges. Investors saw a toll booth on live entertainment.

From Machines to Seats

Ticketmaster Corporation was organized in 1976 to build stand-alone automated ticketing systems for individual venues. For its first years it earned money from equipment sales, royalties and service fees, and it did not sell tickets to the public. In the fall of 1982 it began to change into a service provider. It linked one ticket inventory system to phone centers and retail outlets, so a fan could buy seats for many venues in one place. Fredric Rosen became CEO in 1993.

Fourteen Fifty a Share

Ticketmaster Group priced its IPO at $14.50 a share in November 1996 and listed on Nasdaq under TKTM. Allen & Company led the deal. Its public life was short. Barry Diller's USA Networks bought a large stake in 1997 and the rest of the company in 1998, and Ticketmaster deregistered its stock in June 1998. The brand lived on, and today Ticketmaster is part of Live Nation Entertainment.

Cover: Perspective Picture of a Kabuki Theater (Uki-e Kabuki shibai), Utagawa Toyoharu. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a packed kabuki theater (a full house).