Ticketing technology platform Lyte has raised $33 million in a Series B round, a combination of equity and debt.
The latest round brings Lyte’s fundraising total to $48m.
Lyte states that the funding will allow it to continue its growth beyond the nearly 300 artist tours, festivals, venues and live events that use the firm’s technology.
Joining as first-time Lyte investors are Chamath Palihapitiya’s Social Capital, music industry legend Quincy Jones and Rocketship VC.
In addition, Ryan Moore’s Accomplice, Jackson Square Ventures, and Lyte’s original seed investors Joe Edelman and Adam Stone return to fund and support the company as do Philip Deutch, Zander Lurie, Matt Mickiewicz and digital media entrepreneur and Lyte Board Member, Rob Goldberg.
Lyte’s claims that its proprietary Always OnSale ticket reservation technology enables artists and events to go to market and aggregate demand – expressed through credit card reservations – far in advance of an event’s traditional on-sale date and even before all of the event details are known.
One recent example is Lyte’s partnership with artist Jacob Collier.
As reported by Rolling Stone, the UK-based musician recently announced a global tour of 90 concerts, using Lyte’s reservation technology to communicate to his fans that he intends to tour, but only when it is safe to do so.
In the meantime, fans are able to reserve tickets for the city of their choice, risk-free.
Lyte’s technology has also been used by the likes of Coachella, and on major tours with the likes of Mumford & Sons and Wilco.
“We have made consumer choice and flexibility in event ticketing a reality through an investment in technology and partnerships with all of the stakeholders in the events we work with: talent and their representatives, promoters, and venues.”
Ant Taylor, Lyte
Ant Taylor, Lyte Founder and CEO, said: “We believe buying tickets should be no different from any other consumer purchase.
“Fans should be able to support their favorite artists, venues and events without the worry of what to do with their tickets if their life plans change, nor should they be driven to the unregulated secondary market and learn to become amateur ticket scalpers just because they need their money back.
Added Taylor: “We have made consumer choice and flexibility in event ticketing a reality through an investment in technology and partnerships with all of the stakeholders in the events we work with: talent and their representatives, promoters, and venues.
“This approach allows us to build products that offer new ways for fans to safely and easily buy more tickets.
“Our rapid and continued growth – despite the hardships that have hit other parts of the live events sector in 2020 – serves as a testament to the ways our platform and philosophy are bringing better consumer experiences and business outcomes to all we deal with, and we anticipate bringing those benefits to millions of event goers worldwide by the end of 2021.”
“Lyte’s premise is that fans always want to attend the events they are passionate about, not just during the narrow purchase windows the industry typically offers.”
Lawrence Peryer, Lyte
Lawrence Peryer, Lyte’s Chief Revenue Officer, added: “Lyte’s premise is that fans always want to attend the events they are passionate about, not just during the narrow purchase windows the industry typically offers.
“They will reserve tickets far in advance or before all details like venue or date are known, as long as those reservations can be cancelled and fulfilled tickets can be returned or exchanged for credit for other tickets or easily transferred to a friend.”
“Lyte’s platform is built for these times. The ticketing industry has never acted with a fan-first mentality.”
Ryan Moore, Accomplice
Ryan Moore, Founding Partner, Accomplice, said: “Lyte’s platform is built for these times. The ticketing industry has never acted with a fan-first mentality.
“Lyte stands out for its focus on delivering better outcomes for all stakeholders, including not only the business, but the consumer buying the tickets, by empowering them with the easy-to-use tools that mitigate the risk of purchasing tickets often far in advance of an event date, or these days, without knowing exactly when the event will take place.
“We are excited to support Ant and his team as they enhance their platform and accelerate into their next wave of expansion.”
Music Business Worldwide
