Ticketing

Trafalgar Entertainment has acquired London theatre app Stagedoor.

The app is considered London’s most comprehensive theatre guide, featuring audience and critic reviews and a booking process.

Terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but Trafalgar Entertainment Group Chief Operating Officer Helen Enright has said the acquisition will allow for expansion of the app’s reach and offering.

“Crucially, this acquisition and investment in Stagedoor will add greater value to producers, and the additional sales channel will enable us to reach a broader audience and gather valuable data from committed theatre goers,” she added.
 
As part of the deal, Stagedoor’s staff along with its Co-Founders, Chief Executive Michael Hadjijoseph and Chief Technical Officer Alex Cican, will remain with the company to “ensure that future business ambitions are fulfilled”.

“Our vision for Stagedoor is completely aligned with the capabilities of a larger organisation like Trafalgar Entertainment, and the synergies between other portfolio companies in Trafalgar Entertainment’s group gives us confidence that we will be able to realise Stagedoor’s full potential in becoming the new home of theatre,” Hadjijoseph said.

A survey has found that theatre audiences who usually buy the "most affordable" tickets are disproportionately concerned about a drop in their disposable income.

The October 2022 UK Performing Arts Survey garnered 1,000 responses from the audiences of 38 theatres. Of those who look for the "most affordable" seats, 41% said that over the next six months they expect their disposable income to reduce a lot, or to have little or no disposable income.

This compares with 20% of audiences who usually purchase the "best available" tickets.

In the next 12 months, only 6% of respondents expected their attendance at live performances to decrease, compared with pre-pandemic levels.

This rises to 8% for those who usually pay less than £15 for a ticket; purchase the most affordable tickets; or have a health problem or disability that significantly limits their activity.

The survey is managed by TRG Arts/Purple Seven on behalf of participating venues.

TRG Arts UK Managing Director Tony Followell said: “It is concerning to that see the numbers who are unsure about their future attendance is growing.

"Venue managers should be acting now to ensure their pricing strategies are fit for purpose in the challenging times ahead.”

The price of tickets for next year's Glastonbury Festival have increased by 26% with organisers blaming "challenging times" for the rise.

Festival-goers for the 2023 event will be charged £335 plus a £5 booking fee for standard tickets when they go on sale on 6 November, with a £50 deposit.

That represents a 26.4% increase on the £265 cost before booking fee for tickets that went on sale in 2019 for what should have been the 2020 festival that was ultimately postponed.

The BBC reports that Glastonbury Festival organiser Emily Eavis said "incredibly challenging times" are behind the rise and they had tried "very hard" to keep costs down.

"We're facing enormous rises in the costs of running this vast show, whilst still recovering from the huge financial impact of two years without a festival because of Covid," she said.

"The £50 deposit on ticket sales day in November will be the same as ever, with the balance not due until April.

"And, as always, there will be opportunities for many thousands of people to come as volunteers or as part of the crew.

"In these incredibly challenging times, we want to continue to bring you the best show in the world and provide our charities with funds which are more vital than ever."

Experience commerce technology company Easol is launching a new toolkit designed to help festival organisers run profitable events and deliver “gold-standard” customer experience.

In the wake of the pandemic, festival organisers are facing challenges including rising costs and supply chain issues, loss of labour due to the pandemic and a saturated market after two years of postponements, the company said. It also cited low consumer confidence and the cost of living crisis as factors affecting ticket sales.

The new toolkit aims to help tackle the problem of organisers using multiple websites and systems to manage customer bookings and payments, which Easol says leads to “increased fees, loss of data and a loss of control over the customer experience”.

“It is amazing to see festivals up and running again but as festival organisers ourselves, we know that they are facing an uphill battle by using outdated technology that erodes the control they have over their business,” said Ben Simpson, Co-Founder and CEO of Easol.

The company plans to reveal full details of the toolkit at an event on September 22.

Ticket insurance and protection firm TicketPlan has partnered with one of the leading ticketing companies and live events websites in the UK.

Under the arrangement TicketPlan will team up with Skiddle in order to provide refund protection to their advance ticket purchasers.

Ben Bray Relationship and Development Director at TicketPlan said: "It’s incredibly exciting to be working with one of the UK’s leading and growing live event ticketing companies renowned for their technological solutions and consumer focus.”

TicketPlan was established in 1999 enabling ticketing companies, sports organisations, venues, attractions and events to provide an added value service to ticket buyers. 

Established in 2001, Skiddle has become one of the UK's leading live event websites.