TechCrunch (09/27/21) Lunden, Ingrid
London-based Dice has raised $122 million in capital that sources say values the company at $400 million for building a platform to help people discover and book live events. Dice has repurposed its business model to concentrate on livestreaming, and currently covers about 6,400 livestreamed and thousands more in-person events. The new funds will be channeled into growing Dice's geographic presence especially in the U.S., given the most rapid growth in business appears to be concentrated there. Dice CEO Phil Hutcheon believes dominant ticketing platforms such as Ticketmaster, Live Nation, StubHub and Eventbrite are too static and not equipped for the modern age and demands. "The world has been opaque around live performance, but it's now 2021," he said. "The answer to shift it all is transparency. [Legacy ticket companies] make it all much more complicated than it should be." Dice's three-pronged strategy involves making ticketing easy and secure for users and venues; ensuring people interested in a particular performance have reliable recommendations of other events they might enjoy, in locations they could realistically reach; and finding a community of like-minded people onsite, as well as visiting Dice and knowing what friends or those with similar interests might like. "We believe Dice's technology has the capacity to transform the future of live entertainment," said Yanni Pipilis at SoftBank Investment Advisers. "Alongside the flexibility and security of seamless ticketing, the platform connects fans, artists and venues in a completely new way."
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