Identify fan demand and pack sold-out shows with real fans

In the past when events sold out, desperate fans turned to desperate measures. They’d wait outside venues looking to buy expensive tickets from resellers, with no guarantee that the tickets were genuine. And, in the hope they’d get to see their favourite artists, they’d inevitably part with too much money for a potentially fake ticket. 

Since we launched it in 2014, the DICE Waiting List has changed the way that fans interact with sold-out events. It levels the playing field: fans buy tickets returned by other fans – no resellers involved.

If you’re not up to speed with how the Waiting List works, let us give you the lowdown.

What's the Waiting List?

When an event sells out on DICE, you have the option to turn on the Waiting List. This is a feature that lets fans join a virtual queue to buy tickets that other fans return if they can’t make the event or if they change their mind.

Why is this a game-changer?

Firstly, because fans are returning and buying tickets exclusively through DICE, no tickets are lost to the secondary market. That means venues and artists get all of their hard-earned revenue, and fans don’t get charged through the nose for tickets by resellers. 

Secondly, DICE partners can see who’s on the Waiting List for their event, which helps them understand demand. Partners have full visibility on the number of fans on the Waiting List, so they can plan extra dates or future events, and use DICE to target these fans with personalised marketing.

Here’s an example: if a 200-capacity room sells out in minutes and 600 fans join the Waiting List for tickets, then you know you can reliably sell out at least three additional events exclusively with fans. That’s extremely valuable knowledge.

Who uses the Waiting List?

All creators who sell tickets on DICE have the option to use the Waiting List. We’ve seen artists, venues and promoters make great use of it to support a lot of different goals. From growing their fan bases to selling tickets and selling out tours, there’s a way to use the feature for just about everything. 

Making the most of socially distanced events

East London’s favourite church venue, Hackney Church, reopened in 2021 after lockdown having undergone a £5 million renovation. The team were ready to welcome back fans for socially distanced events, but due to the reduced capacity, every performance had a matinee and a late show with tailored seating to maximise the amount of fans who could attend each performance. 

With DICE, the team at Hackney Church were able to see every fan joining the Waiting List for a performance. When events sold out, they could gauge the demand and see data about the fans who were looking for tickets, and potentially contact those fans for marketing purposes. Performances were selling out and Hackney Church could also see that 25,000 fans were ready and waiting to get tickets. This information helped with their long-term plans and revenue as they began to get back to normal with live events. Hackney Church's Experiences Director Thando Zulu noted that “It’s so easy to see who’s buying tickets, who’s checked into the venue, and who’s excited for future events.”

Growing internationally

When it was starting out, Everyday People was a must-attend 200-capacity brunch event in New York where fans celebrated Black and African diaspora culture together with food and music from some of the city’s top talents. News of the events began to spread and DICE worked with Everyday People on a series of events in LA that were available exclusively on DICE. Over 6,000 tickets were sold, which helped Everyday People find out more about their audience and plan even more parties for their fans. 

With that in mind, DICE looked at the demographics of fans attending Everyday People parties in the US, and identified a great opportunity to bring the event to London. Despite being the first Everyday People event in the UK, tickets sold out and 157 fans joined the Waiting List for the night at Hackney’s Night Tales. Now, whenever Everyday People is ready to put on another international event, the team will be able to plan accordingly using their valuable fan data.

Meeting fan demand quickly

A key part of the Waiting List is being able to react quickly to demand and put on additional events to meet it. One great example of this is Pi’erre Bourne’s visit to Paris in 2020. Pi’erre was performing for the first time in France at a single event in Paris hosted at and promoted by 1999, which sold out quickly on DICE. Tickets were in demand and 484 fans joined the Waiting List, more than double the number of fans who would be able to attend. This was an eye-opener. DICE alerted Pi’erre’s team and moved quickly to find another opportunity for him to perform.

DICE partner and promoter Öctöpus brings the best international hip-hop and grime acts to France, and was the perfect fit to help put on another show for Pi’erre. A night at DICE partner venue Badaboum in Paris was secured, and fans who had joined the Waiting List got a heads up about the show – Pi’erre sold an extra 410 tickets. Double the capacity, double the revenue. Cyril Bahsief, Promoter at Öctöpus said it best when he said “[DICE] has a reputation for giving promoters and venues more power over their events and helping them to sell tickets.”

Sold on the Waiting List?

Knowing what fans want and how you can give it to them is one of the most important parts of putting on events, but you already know that. If you’re interested in how DICE can help you sell more tickets then get in touch.