Mobile ticketing and livestreaming platform DICE has built a live events business in part by taking a stance against scalpers and bots.
Its platform assigns tickets to a specific buyer’s smartphone, making it difficult to resell tickets on the secondary ticket market.
That business model has allowed it to gain a foothold in a market dominated by giants like Ticketmaster and CTS Eventim. Last year, DICE reported that more than 55,000 artists and over 10,000 venues, festivals and promoters were on track to use its platform across 30 cities in 2023.
DICE announced on Tuesday (May 28) that’s launching a new marketplace on its app this summer that the company says has the potential to increase revenue from events by 30%.
To help grow that side of its business, the UK-headquartered tech company has hired Jack Driessen – formerly of Whatnot, Saturdays NYC and Tommy Hilfiger – as its new VP of Commerce.
The first product to roll out in the marketplace will be DICE Extras, which will enable the sale of “enriched experiences and auxiliary goods” linked to live events.
Launching in the UK and UK this July, DICE Extras will be integrated into the ticketing platform, to “easily create, manage, report on, and market their add-ons… directly to their target audience on DICE,” the company said in a statement.
The feature will be available initially to event promoters, with rollout to artists “coming soon.”
Among Extras’ features will be:
- Experiences: Area passes, meet-and-greets, after-parties, VIP upgrades, and the ability to skip the line at the event
- Accommodation and Transport Options: parking passes, coach or bus services, and camping area passes
- Food and Drink: The ability to purchase food and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages
- Merch: Includes festival, venue or promoter merchandise
DICE says 44 partners helped Beta-test the feature, and indie venues and promoter partners saw revenue increases of up to 30% as a result.
“By utilising Extras, a Los Angeles promoter saw festival afterparty sales rise 2x year-on-year, a New York City promoter increased pre-sold tickets by 25%, and a Miami partner added over $100,000 in incremental revenue to a sold-out two-day event,” DICE said.
“The Extras suite will allow fans to effortlessly discover and purchase everything music-related in one place from tickets to VIP upgrades and unique experiences.”
Jack Driessen, DICE
One of the participating partners was UK-based events company RnB Slow Jams.
“We were thrilled to see hundreds of fans snapping up the queue jump tickets on top of their regular admission tickets,” RnB Slow Jams Events Manager Matthew Bridgeman said.
“The seamless integration has not only enhanced our fan experience but also boosted our revenue. We’re looking forward to continuing our partnership with DICE and leveraging more of the app’s commerce features in the future.”
“The Extras suite will allow fans to effortlessly discover and purchase everything music-related in one place from tickets to VIP upgrades and unique experiences,” Jack Driessen, DICE’s new VP of Commerce, said in a statement.
“It also empowers our artist, venue and promoter partners to connect directly with audiences whilst streamlining their operations and boosting their bottom line.”
Driessen came to DICE from women’s fashion retailer Whatnot, where he served as General Manager, Apparel. Prior to that, he served as VP of Ecommerce, Digital Marketing, Merchandising and Planning, and then as COO, at clothing and lifestyle brand Saturdays NYC. Prior to that, he served as Director of Ecommerce Strategy at Tommy Hilfiger.
“DICE has already nailed the ticket-buying experience, and now we want to build on that, making it even easier for fans to get the most out of live events, all on one platform,” Driessen said.
“It’s an exciting moment for DICE, and I’m looking forward to growing our product capabilities to help fans get out more and get closer to the artists they love.”
“We were thrilled to see hundreds of fans snapping up the queue jump tickets on top of their regular admission tickets. The seamless integration has not only enhanced our fan experience but also boosted our revenue.”
Matthew Bridgeman, RnB Slow Jams
The latest add-on to DICE’s ticketing product follows the launch of Merch on DICE in 2021, which enabled artists to engage in limited-run “product drops” ahead of live events.
It also follows the 10-year-old company’s expansion into livestreaming in 2020, amid the pandemic.
In 2021, DICE raised $122 million in a Series C funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with follow on investments from iPod inventor and iPhone co-inventor Tony Fadell’s Future Shape, along with Blisce, French entrepreneur Xavier Niel, Mirabaud, Cassius and Evolution. Fadell joined the DICE board at that time.
In 2023, the company announced it had raised $65 million in a funding round led by MUSIC, the investment company co-founded by Matt Pincus and LionTree. Other investors in that round included Structural Capital and Ahdritz Holding LLC, the investment vehicle for Willard Ahdritz, founder and chairman of Kobalt Music.Music Business Worldwide [STAGING]
