LONDON, September 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Ticketmaster, the world's leading live entertainment ticketing and marketing company, will be using their latest ticketing innovation, the Paperless Ticket, for the first time in Europe when Metallica launch their new album Death Magnetic live at The O2 in London on September 15.

Ticketmaster is constantly looking at the use of new technology in order to offer a more secure and safe ticketing experience for fans, clients and artists. Paperless ticketing allows quick and secure access to venues, while reducing the amount of paper used to print tickets, saving both time for fans and reducing the impact on the environment.

Over 15,000 people are expected to attend the event but tickets will not exchange hands with this latest innovative and secure technology, and fans will not have to wait at box- ffices to collect tickets. Customers using a Credit Card/Visa Debit Card to purchase their tickets will not be sent a ticket but will only be required to arrive at the venue with their credit card and photo identification. Their card will then be swiped, they will be given a receipt, and they will then be granted entry to the event. The entire process is quick, secure and simple.

The Death Magnetic release party will go on sale to Fan Club and Mission Metallica members only from September 1st. The event is promoted by Stuart Galbraith for Kilimanjaro Live /AEG.

Chris Edmonds, Managing Director, said "The drive behind this innovative ticketing technology is our continued desire to provide our clients with new ways to provide quick and secure ticketing systems for their events. Paperless ticketing means no box-office collection queues for these tickets with entry being given on the swipe of the credit card used for the booking and photo ID checked by venue staff. This benefits both the consumer and the venue by allowing secure, smooth and fast entry to events."

Stuart Galbraith, Kilimanjaro CEO, said, "Metallica want to ensure that all the proceeds from this launch party to go directly to charity. They also want the audience to be all Fan Club and Mission Metallica members. By working closely with Ticketmaster and their Paperless Ticket technology we can deliver the band's wishes and minimise the possibility of charitable tickets being resold in the secondary market. Airline customers are now very used to arriving at check-in with just a credit card as validation and I believe that the TM Paperless Ticket system heralds the launch of a new phase in concert ticketing that will quickly be adopted by gig goers in exactly the same way."

About Ticketmaster UK

As the world's leading live entertainment ticketing and marketing company, Ticketmaster connects the world to live entertainment. Ticketmaster operates in 20 global markets, providing ticket sales, ticket resale services, marketing and distribution through www.Ticketmaster.com, one of the largest e-commerce sites on the Internet; approximately 6,700 retail outlets; and 21 worldwide call centres. Established in 1976, Ticketmaster serves more than 10,000 clients worldwide across multiple event categories, providing exclusive ticketing services for leading arenas, stadiums, professional sports franchises and leagues, college sports teams, performing arts venues, museums, and theatres. In 2007, the company sold more than 141 million tickets valued at over $8.3 billion on behalf of its clients. Ticketmaster is headquartered in West Hollywood, California and is traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange (NASDAQ: TKTM).

Jon Wiffen: +44(0)20-7980-4412 / jon.wiffen@ticketmaster.co.uk