The roar of the crowd

Wen people buy a membership in Houseseats, they don't have to pay to attend concerts, shows and sporting events.

But they'll pay if they don't.

Bill Nagel, managing director for Houseseats Reno/Tahoe and Sacramento, brought the online ticket service

here in November. A former Las Vegas resident, he'd held a membership in the company launched in southern Nevada four years ago.

Houseseats bills itself as an online solution for what theater professionals call "papering the house." That's when producers distribute complimentary tickets to guarantee their venue is full during a performance.

"Houseseats works when shows have extra seats to fill," says Nagel. "We have a membership database of

locals that we notify when there is a show offering."

To get those email blasts, members pay annual subscription fees to get late calls on tickets. Members are under no obligation to accept those free tickets but if they do, and then fail to attend, they're fined $20.

Failure to pay revokes membership.

Membership levels start at $39 for a two-month trial.

Annual memberships are priced at $80 to receive two tickets for as many shows as are posted. For $170, members can get four tickets for each show posted. All tickets are on a first-come, first-serve basis.

(Subscription is online at www.houseseats.com.)

When he's selling memberships, Nagel hears one objection: The member must pick up tickets in person at will-call. No designated alternate is allowed.

Still, he says, membership grows rapidly via word-of-mouth. To fuel that buzz, Houseseats awards members an extra month of membership for each new sign-up referred. And the sixth referral earns a $75 dinner coupon.

"Our people love going out," says Nagel. "They love talking to people. They're sociable people."

Nagel, too, is the sociable type and looks forward to calling on casino and concert venues in Reno, Tahoe and Sacramento. His back-story includes sales in the wine industry, conference organizer at Microsoft and technical director for shows in Las Vegas. So when he heard that Houseseats was looking to expand to northern Nevada markets, he said, "Hey, I'm here."

But when selling venues, says Nagel, "I hear no objections. They love it." A venue pays nothing to participate; after all, it provides the unsold seats.

The number of venues and members at privately-owned Houseseats LLC are proprietary information, says

Nagel. So are his goals for Reno, Tahoe and Sacramento.

But he's looking to add restaurants, golf courses and even hair stylists.

In Las Vegas, says Nagel, new restaurants looking to generate some buzz give away some meal tickets. Ditto for hair stylists.

But performance venues make up the bread and butter of the business.

"Performers perform better when there is a full house," says Nagel. "It creates more energy and is more enjoyable for the audience too."

Finally, the service can do double duty as a market research tool. Members who accept tickets can get an email survey afterward, asking about the experience.

Available tickets are posted via email blast and on the Houseseats Web site calendar. Tickets might come on the market two weeks in advance or, commonly, on day of show.

"We can fill 10 to 100 seats," says Nagel. "In Las Vegas, they filled 1,000 empty seats at a major sports

event."