The Ticketmaster handler (inc/Steps/EventImport/Handlers/Ticketmaster/Ticketmaster.php, TicketmasterSettings) plugs into EventImportStep through HandlerRegistrationTrait so it can be selected inside a Data Machine pipeline. Each execution follows the single-item pattern with automatic pagination: it fetches events from the Ticketmaster API (paginating through results up to MAX_PAGE=19), normalizes the incoming title/date/venue via Utilities/EventIdentifierGenerator::generate($title, $startDate, $venue), checks datamachine_is_item_processed, marks the identifier, and immediately returns the first eligible DataPacket so the pipeline stays incremental.

Configuration & Authentication

• Auth: Ticketmaster uses an auth provider (TicketmasterAuth) that supplies an api_key.
• Handler settings (from TicketmasterSettings): classification_type (required), location (lat,lng string), radius (miles), optional genre, optional venue_id, optional search, optional exclude_keywords.

Data Mapping

• The handler maps Ticketmaster API responses into a standardized event payload (title, dates/times, venue name, ticket URL, etc.), plus a separate venue_metadata array.
• The handler stores venue context into EventEngineData::storeVenueContext() and merges price into engine data (when available).
• The handler returns a DataPacket whose body contains JSON: { event, venue_metadata, import_source: "ticketmaster" }.

Unique Capabilities

Ticketmaster automatically paginates through API results (up to MAX_PAGE = 19) and returns as soon as it finds the first eligible, unprocessed event. It sets startDateTime to one hour in the future to avoid importing near-immediate past events, filters to events with dates.status.code === "onsale", and supports include/exclude keyword filters.

Pagination

The handler paginates Ticketmaster API results up to MAX_PAGE = 19, advancing pages until it finds the first eligible unprocessed event.

Event Flow

1. EventImportStep instantiates Ticketmaster and reads TicketmasterSettings values.
2. Handler fetches the first eligible event, normalizes identity with EventIdentifierGenerator, stores venue context via EventEngineData::storeVenueContext(), and returns a single DataPacket.
3. EventEngineData carries the structured payload into the pipeline.
4. EventUpsert receives the data, merges engine parameters, runs field-by-field change detection, assigns venue/promoter via TaxonomyHandler, syncs _datamachine_event_datetime, and optionally downloads featured images.

Every EventUpsert run uses the same identifier hash so duplicates do not slip through.