Many consumers would say they're right. Which is why selling tickets is a business that seems destined for success online. Add the fact that many people already use the Web to gather information about off-line entertainment, and the box office suddenly looks like a candidate for the endangered species list.
Recent mergers indicate that corporate America is coming to the same conclusion.
And last week, TicketmasterUSA announced its intention to buy Lycos. This is more mainstream, and it will take off. Go to a lot of ticket counters, and they don't even have a seating plan. It's no surprise that the bellwether for the online ticket market is Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch, which, along with its sister subsidiary, Ticketmaster, is owned by USA Networks. Industry analysts say Ticketmaster is the exclusive ticketing agent for roughly 80 percent of the nation's entertainment venues, with Ticketmaster Online serving as the exclusive online ticketing agent for those outlets.