Patrick Healy reporting for The New York Times:

The algorithm, a software tool that draws on “Lion King” data for 11.5 million audience members so far, recommends prices for five different types of performances — peak dates like Christmas, off-peak dates like a weeknight in February, and periods in between. Ticket demand from mid-March in recent years, for instance, will influence price recommendations for this week.

My wife and I were lucky enough to see The Lion King at the Minskoff on our honeymoon. It was absolutely phenomenal.

And it’s equally cool to know that we were part of the algorithmic pricing scheme Disney has employed to increase sales.

What confuses me is the fact that this algorithm is considered an innovation in the Broadway Musical industry. Isn’t it common sense to apply big data algorithms to ticket pricing in every industry? To learn that this is a new pricing tactic is about as surprising as The Lion King topping 2013 sales charts.

Whatever the case, if you’re heading to New York for any reason (and you aren’t a New Yorker to begin with), I would recommend heading down to the Minskoff sometime in the middle of the week in April. Tickets will be as cheap as ever[1] and your breath will be taken away.

Assuming the algorithm is working correctly. ↩