Rolling Meadows ticket reseller to see layoffs

Rolling Meadows-based TicketsNow.com, a ticket reseller that was bought earlier this year by Ticketmaster, is expected to lay off 62 workers while its parent company reorganizes.

Since Ticketmaster has call centers worldwide, it has opted to wind down the TicketsNow call center in Crystal Lake by late December. Another 26 employees will be retained and get other positions, said TicketsNow spokeswoman Jennifer Swanson.

"Ticketmaster, our parent company, has planned for $35 million in overall cost reductions designed to eliminate redundancies and nonessential functions, reorganize operations for greater efficiency and improve performance," Swanson said Thursday. "This move to integrate our call centers is part of that plan."

In January, TicketsNow said it would be acquired by Ticketmaster for about $265 million. At that time, it had more than 200 employees at its Rolling Meadows headquarters and a Crystal Lake office. At that time, President and CEO Cheryl Rosner said the new parent had planned to "grow" the company.

However, no industry, product or service is immune to the effects of the economy, said Swanson.

Ticketmaster also recently acquired controlling interest in Front Line Management, a leading artist management company. So the corporation has been renamed Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc., which aims to transform the music and live entertainment industries, Swanson said.

Mike Domek, the founder of TicketsNow who left in April, was unavailable for comment. He started the company in 1999 out of his Crystal Lake one-bedroom apartment.