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True to its name, Hollywood-based ScoreBig did just that by securing $18 million in funding for its online platform that uses a name-your-price approach to live event ticketing.
ScoreBig has built its business on helping consumers find better prices to concert tickets, sporting events and other live event tickets by selling unused tickets at discounted rates. Users pick a rate they are willing to pay for an upcoming event – a Justin Timberlake concert, a Broadway play or a Steelers game – and get instant confirmation on whether their bid was accepted. Unlike a site built for scalpers, bids must be below the printed ticket price.
Expanding Products, More Users
The new round of funding, led by Hearst Ventures, will help the well-established company expand online and mobile products, forge new partnerships and attract more users.
The team believes that everyone should have the chance to experience live events, and that those unsold tickets – and unused seats – are a waste for all involved. “We are passionate about our mission — getting millions of new consumers out to enjoy the thrill of live entertainment, more often” said ScoreBig’s CEO David Goldberg in a press release.
The company’s model helps minimize those unsold seats by giving event organizers an opaque way to sell extra tickets (ensuring they can still sell full-priced tickets) and pack the stadium. In theory, it ends up boosting revenue for the organizer or performer and allows more people into the show.
Like many other successful platforms in other industries, ScoreBig is concerned about both parties. The company looks for ways to ensure both consumer and the event organizers are benefiting from the deal. “ScoreBig is built on the belief that both the price conscious consumer and the industry can win. The team at ScoreBig has developed a solution to two of the biggest challenges facing the live entertainment industry: making live events more affordable for price conscious consumers, and increasing live event attendance,” said George Kliavkoff, co-president, Hearst Entertainment & Syndication, and president of Hearst Ventures.
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Big Savings, Big Growth
The savings can be big; the company claims that consumers average a 40% savings below box office prices, even when tickets are purchased through their site well in advance.
Big savings have translated into rapid growth for ScoreBig. The company currently has 68 employees and expects 2014 revenue to be double that of a year ago.
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