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Ticketmaster welcomes Scott Beecken to SA office

Ticketmaster is pleased to announce the appointment of Scott Beecken to the position of State Manager – South Australia.

Scott has extensive ticketing experience and as an Adelaide local he also has significant experience and knowledge of the local market.

Scott has joined Client Manager Larissa Plummer in the South Australian office and he will have overall responsibility for the delivery of Ticketmaster’s operation in the state. As well as servicing Ticketmaster’s existing clients within the region, Scott will look to develop and build Ticketmaster’s South Australian presence through new acquisitions and relationships.

As a long-time ticketing professional, Scott is a key appointment for Ticketmaster. We wanted to get to know our newest staff member better so we sat down with Scott for a quick Q&A. Here’s what he had to say.

Ticketmaster: Welcome to Ticketmaster! Can you tell us a little about your background in ticketing?

Scott: While I was Promotions Manager for the South Australian Brewing Company (West End Breweries) I was introduced to Printic, a promotional ticketing software package designed for the hotel and club industry.  The software gave clients the ability to print out a range of promotional tickets in-house as required for bar promotions, entry forms, raffle tickets and basic row and seat tickets.

I left the brewery and started with Printic establishing clients in SA and WA, mostly hotels and clubs and larger companies like Lion Nathan, Schweppes, McDonalds and Coca-Cola who used the software for their on premise promotional activity.

I had a break from ticketing, my wife Shendelle and I bought the Melville Hotel on the Yorke Peninsula.  Seven years later and with three little boys (Zac, Luke and Kye) it was time for a change so we headed back to the big smoke.

After a well-deserved break, the owners of Printic approached me to find them some business in S.A. for their new ticketing company PROticket.  Co-incidentally the Adelaide 36ers were looking at their ticketing needs and I had just met one of the owners who I managed to convince they give PROticket a go.  I wasn’t looking for anything full time, I was happy playing Mr Mum for a while but I agreed to help PROticket get set up and run their first few events, but here I am all these years later still in ticketing only now with Ticketmaster.

TM: Ticketmaster has expanded rapidly in South Australia. What exciting things are happening in your market?

SB:  With Ticketmaster we have secured the Adelaide Arena, Netball SA Stadium, Thebarton Theatre and a range of other arts theatres, our client list is larger and the event load is growing quickly so our market share is increasing as well, it’s an exciting time to be involved.

TM: You’re in the live entertainment industry so you must have seen some amazing events. Can you tell us a couple of the best you have seen?

SB:  Amazing would be the Adelaide 36ers finals last season, that was an eye opener, it was frantic and exciting.  Basketball play the best of three games in finals, the stadium would sell out in minutes, there were people everywhere, we packed them in and the atmosphere was the best I have ever seen anywhere.  Hopefully, the 36ers will hold on to see finals again this year.

TM: What do you love about living in South Australia?

SB: I’m obviously biased but South Australia is a great place to live; it’s laid back, you can drive anywhere in 20 minutes or so, houses aren’t ridiculously expensive and we have good food, great wine and beautiful beaches.

TM: If you could have dinner with one celebrity – alive or dead – who would it be?

SB:  Definitely Anthony Bourdain.  I’m a foodie, don’t mind a drink and I reckon Anthony would be pretty entertaining.

TM: Which act or event would you most like to see in South Australia?

SB:  The Grand Prix back in Adelaide.

TM: Two of our newest venues in Adelaide will feature the Adelaide Thunderbirds and Adelaide 36ers. Do you get along to see those teams regularly?

SB: Yes, in the last five years with the Sixers and four years with the Thunderbirds I haven’t missed a game.  I was the only PROticket person in SA so I would liaise with the clients and stakeholders, set up the events, organise staff, floats, testing and run the events match day.  With the Sixers that also included all stadium staff not just scanning and box office staff.  Loved every minute of it, didn’t get a chance to really watch the games though.

TM: What things are you hoping to achieve in the South Australian market over the coming months?

SB: Firstly I need to get my head around the giant that is Ticketmaster, I’m used to doing everything myself so I’ll need to become accustomed to the way Ticketmaster is set up, the way it operates and the division of workload.  Initially I’ll make sure our current clients feel the love and look at bringing other clients, venues and promoters into the fold as soon as possible while at the same time working on some of the larger.  Ticketmaster is committed to increasing its presence in South Australia, that’s why I’m here and I’m looking forward to the challenge.

TM: Thanks for joining us Scott and welcome to the team!