New Report Debates Future of Arts & Culture Ticketing

• REMIX report, commissioned by Eventbrite, argues pros and cons of third-party ticketing versus in-house solutions
• Considers e-commerce learnings and future technology developments
• Launched today at 2017 REMIX summit

19 January, London – Revealed today at the annual REMIX Summit in London, a REMIX-produced report, ‘The Big Ticket Questions: Future-proofing technology for arts & culture organisations’ sheds light on whether arts and culture organisations should be creating in-house ticketing solutions or using third-party platforms, making it essential reading for event organisers in the sector.Simon Cronshaw, managing partner of the global REMIX Summits and founder of the VC-funded creative marketplace CultureLabel.com, presented the report this afternoon at the culture, technology and entrepreneurship conference.Commissioned by leading ticketing and event technology platform Eventbrite, the report argues that ticketing solutions need to integrate all ticketing, marketing and fundraising data in order to create new sales opportunities.From conversion rate optimisation to customer service relations, the report considers how event organisers can exploit technology to keep pace with consumer expectations. It also suggests ways in which they can increase ticket sales, including how to convert browsers into buyers and utilise user data and results to improve customer relationship management.Modern ticketing solutions exist to sell tickets quickly, easily and repeatedly. However, arts and culture organisations often operate within a limited budget which can mean that advances in ticketing can sometimes be neglected. ‘The Big Ticket Questions’ debates whether arts and culture organisations are better creating their own ticketing solution or utilising other options such as Open Source software (which can be downloaded, personalised and hosted on companies’ servers) and Software as a Service (a fee-based model managed centrally by a third party). It concludes that, unless you’re committed to building from the ground up, third party software can enable arts and culture organisations to meet high user expectations at a lower cost.The report also scrutinises the prospects for arts and culture ticketing, discovering seven important forces shaping the future of the market, including distributed sales and the growing need to optimise for mobile payments. However, one of the most significant changes is that to the ‘experience’ itself. Physical bundles and VIP packages, as well as ticket-to-brand experiences covering everything from simple online promotions to digital scrapbooks, have dramatically changed what users expect from ticketing platforms.The full report, commissioned by Eventbrite and produced with editorial independence by REMIX, can be downloaded for free at http://tinyurl.com/bigticketquestions.Simon Cronshaw, Managing Partner and Co-founder of REMIX Summits, said: "This report was published as part of yet another very successful REMIX Summit. The ticketing market is changing rapidly, and it can sometimes be hard for organisations to keep up. The report will hopefully act as a guiding light for what they should focus on, why harnessing tech can improve their ticket sales and how to do this most efficiently.”Katie McPhee, Head of Strategic Acquisition and Growth at Eventbrite, added: “We welcome REMIX’s report and its findings, which gives arts and cultural event organisers an opportunity to consider what ticketing can learn from e-commerce.”The sold out 2017 REMIX Summit at Ace Hotel London Shoreditch and Google HQ from 18 - 19 January focused on culture, technology and entrepreneurship. Other speakers included Bill Sweeney, CEO of British Olympic Association; Henry Volans, ?Director of Faber Press at Faber & Faber; and Alex Beard CBE, CEO of the Royal Opera House.About REMIXFrom the Creators of CultureLabel.com, REMIX explores the intersection between culture, technology and entrepreneurship. The company tackles the big issues and ideas facing the cultural sector and shaping its future through its global summits, academy training and published insights.About EventbriteEventbrite is the leading global ticketing and event technology platform. The company has processed over $5 billion in gross ticket sales since inception and powers more than two million events around the world each year. Built with a focus on reliability and scale, the platform serves hundreds of thousands of event organisers. In the UK, these include Showmasters, Telegraph Events, The Guardian, WOMAD music festival and many more. Organisers use Eventbrite to help boost ticket sales, promote and manage events, and analyse results across multiple sales channels: web, mobile, point-of-sale, and a growing distribution platform. Tens of millions of consumers also use Eventbrite every year to discover a variety of live experiences and get tickets on a safe, easy-to-use platform - from photography classes and obstacle runs to large concerts and festivals with tens of thousands of people. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in San Francisco, the company has a team presence in eight countries including the UK and processes tickets in 180 countries. Investors include Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global and T. Rowe Price. Learn more at www.eventbrite.co.uk.