GrouponLive: Groupon and Live Nation to Offer Local Concert Deals

Groupon will pair with Live Nation to create GrouponLive, a site for deep discounts on tickets to concerts, sports, theater, and other live events. GrouponLive’s site isn’t quite live yet but plans on being prepared for the “summer concert season,” according to the press release. You can visit GrouponLive now and drop off your e-mail address to receive limited-time deal notifications in the future.

The details of how GrouponLive will actually function are sparse, but it looks to be a combination of Groupon’s last-minute deals combined with the inflated prices of Ticketmaster, which Live Nation owns.

Michael Rapino, President and CEO of Live Nation Entertainment, said in the press release that GrouponLive is “a new channel to drive value for fans” and will help artists reach larger audiences. Offering bargain-bin prices on no-name concerts is, indeed, a great way to fill otherwise cobwebby seats, but I wouldn’t expect you’d get a cheap ticket to Lady Gaga’s next show.

Groupon’s mobile app is part of what feeds its extensive reach, so I’m hoping an updated Groupon app will include GrouponLive, stealing a page from iLike’s Local Concerts or iConcertCal to scan your smartphone’s music library and tell you who’s playing nearby on the cheap.