Amazon to challenge Ticketmaster with its new ticketing service

There may also be plans to integrate ticket sales into the company's Prime membership programme

(Getty Images)

Amazon is reportedly planning to expand its online ticketing business in Europe, Asia and potentially the US, after launching last year.

recode reported that a series of recently-posted job listings suggest that there is a new ambition to "position Amazon Tickets as the world's premier destination for puchasing tickets".

There may also be plans to integrate ticket sales into the company's Prime membership programme with something called 'Prime Tickets'.

Amazon Tickets was launched in the UK in 2015 and sells tickets for performances by the likes of Blink-182, Drake and Little Mix, and theatre shows and musicals such as Wicked and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.

Another job advertisement for a Web Development Engineer on Amazon Tickets aims to solve its perceived problem that ticket-buying can easily become a frustrating experience.

Ticketmaster has a strong hold on the concert ticket market in the US (and in the UK), so Amazon is setting itself quite the challenge if it does plan to take the company on.

Ticketmaster recently announced a new partnership with Spotify which will involve the streaming service emailing gig recommendations to fans "in most markets" with the same data it uses to suggest concerts within the app.

A post on the Spotify Artists blog said that "by increasing the reach and putting recommendations in millions of fans' inboxes, we think we can do much more".

Artists are being encouraged to drive more fans to follow their profiles on Spotify, while users can opt in for early access to the gig emails.

The Ticketmaster/Spotify partnership was a surprise after the latter's close relationship with Songkick, but Spotify said it would continue to partner with the other streaming service for shows that are not being sold via Ticketmaster.

"Through Songkick's comprehensive database of shows, we'll ensure that every date - no matter who you ticket through - is listed and can be recommended to fans around the world."