UK-born ticketing, livestream and music discovery platform DICE has raised up to $122 million in Series C funding.
The round was led by new investor, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with follow on investments from Tony Fadell’s Future Shape, Blisce, French entrepreneur Xavier Niel, Mirabaud, Cassius and Evolution.
In addition, Tony Fadell, iPod inventor and iPhone co-inventor, is joining the DICE board to support further platform development and expansion into venues.
Launched in London in 2014, DICE now works with over 3,600 venues, festivals and promoters globally.
The company says that it has differentiated itself from competitors with its focus on “repeat fans”, as well as its Discovery algorithm, which DICE says is responsible for over 40% of tickets sold.
According to DICE, with the company’s current rate of growth, 49,000 artists and creators will use the platform by the end of 2022.
DICE is live in the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Australia and, since 2019, the US . In October, DICE launched its app in India.
In addition to physical events, at the start of the pandemic last year, DICE launched ticketed live streaming on its platform.
Spanning music, arts and culture, DICE has powered over 6,400 live streams to date.
With the additional funding, DICE says that it will “significantly grow the company” by expanding reach to artists, fans and venues, while hiring new team members, adding to its live stream offering, and launching what it calls “an ambitious artist development program” that will see the platform work with more artists directly on their live strategy.
DICE uses electronic act Bicep as case study, reporting that the act grew from 300 to over 30,000 tickets per event in London as a result of their exclusive partnership with DICE.
“We believe DICE’s technology has the capacity to transform the future of live entertainment.”
Yanni Pipilis, SoftBank Investment Advisers
Yanni Pipilis, Managing Partner for SoftBank Investment Advisers, said: “We believe DICE’s technology has the capacity to transform the future of live entertainment.
“Alongside the flexibility and security of seamless ticketing, the platform connects fans, artists and venues in a completely new way… We are excited to partner with DICE to help create remarkable event experiences for fans all over the world.”
“DICE is rewiring the live experiences industry. We have proven that if you treat fans well, they go out more.”
Phil Hutcheon, DICE
Phil Hutcheon, CEO and Founder of DICE, added: “DICE is rewiring the live experiences industry. We have proven that if you treat fans well, they go out more.
“We’re overhauling an unfair, inefficient system by pioneering a transparent, data-led, fan-first approach – building a scalable ecosystem that helps artists, promoters and venues thrive. To have SoftBank as a partner enables us to expand into every market.”
“We’re excited to use the DICE model globally, hopefully building similar success in all of our key markets.”
Oli Isaacs, Manager, Bicep
Oli Isaacs, Manager of Bicep, said: “We began working with DICE as soon as Bicep started doing live shows in London.
“They encouraged us to sell tickets direct to the fans on the app and to trust the data allowing us to invest in the event rather than extra marketing. We plotted out a strategy, selling out quickly, delivering exponential growth show by show.
“This has allowed us to stay independent and choose our partners. It has worked amazingly for the artist, our fans, partners and label. We’re excited to use the DICE model globally, hopefully building similar success in all of our key markets.”
“DICE re-engineers the entire live industry, not just a part of it: Venues are connected to fans and artists.”
Tony Fadell, DICE
Tony Fadell said: “The concert business is a tangled mess of archaic tools and taxing ‘industry standards’ where artists are paid last. Venues shell out for marketing and are beholden to ticket conglomerates.
“Fans have to hunt for shows and regularly buy overpriced tickets from secondary markets or scalpers. This doesn’t make sense!”
“DICE re-engineers the entire live industry, not just a part of it: Venues are connected to fans and artists.
“Artists get transparency, access and control. Fans easily discover local shows and global live streams, and buy scalper-safe tickets with a single click. I’m ecstatic to be joining the DICE board and to be part of another entertainment revolution.”
In May, Russ Tannen, DICE’s Chief Revenue Officer, was promoted now President of DICE.
In March, DICE expanded into the direct-to-fan merchandise business with Merch On DICE, a feature it says will allow artists to run exclusive, limited-run ‘product drops’ in the lead up to a show, which will only be available to fans attending the live shows or live streams.Music Business Worldwide
