The Culture Report, and DICE President on Making Music Ticketing Less Transactional Trapital

At the top of the episode, I talk about Trapital’s new Culture Report and our opening section on hip-hop’s “decline.” This report is sponsored by DICE, and it was a great chance to chat with DICE President Russ Tannen about the future of ticketing and live events.

Russ moved to New York City in 2021 amid the pandemic with one lofty goal: grow the music ticketing platform’s business inside the competitive United States market. If that wasn’t challenging enough, this was all while live musical shows were still hard to come by. More than a year later, DICE is still in growth mode, not only in the US but with aspirations for other international markets too.

Russ was a day-one employee of DICE when it started in 2013 in Europe. What separated the platform then — and to this day — is its laser focus on the music fan. Unlike its major competitors, DICE is as much a discovery platform as a point-of-sale. Using the app’s own internal data, fans are recommended local shows to attend. 

The recommendation system was created with the intent of improving the live music-going experience for fans. This same reason is also why the ticket price you see on DICE is the final price, no extra fees added at check-out. DICE tickets also can’t be resold outside of its app, ensuring true fans, not ticket scalpers, will have first access to see their favorite artists. 

Russ joined me on the show to discuss the inner workings of DICE, from the app’s unique benefits for fans, artists, and venues alike to its overarching growth strategy. Here’s everything we covered:

[0:35] The Culture Report
[13:01] DICE entering the US market amid pandemic
[15:26] Competing against other ticketing platforms
[19:58] Re-wiring consumer behavior around attending events
[22:15] Prior partnership with Kanye West
[23:37] Has there been any artist pushback?
[25:16] Showing ticket price upfront, not at checkout
[28:10] How DICE deals with ticket-buying bots
[35:57] DICE’s investment in data science is paying off
[35:37] Partnering with Ice Spice
[38:21] Early signals that an artist is on the rise
[40:22] Correlation between social media and streaming numbers on ticket sales
[43:16] Differences in ticketing in US vs. other markets
[46:18] Sales strategies for low-demand shows
[48:46] DICE’s plans to tap more into Latin music market
[52:27] Expansion is DICE’s primary focus in 2023

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | SoundCloud | Stitcher | Overcast | Amazon | Google Podcasts | Pocket Casts | RSS

Host: Dan Runcie, @RuncieDan, trapital.co

Guests: Russ Tannen, @RussTannen
 
Download The Culture Report here: https://trapital.ck.page/a23b7a6a4a
 
Sponsors:
 
MoonPay is the leader in web3 infrastructure. They have partnered with Timbaland, Snoop Dogg, and many more. To learn more, visit moonpay.com/trapital
 
Enjoy this podcast? Rate and review the podcast here! ratethispodcast.com/trapital
 
Trapital is home for the business of hip-hop. Gain the latest insights from hip-hop’s biggest players by reading Trapital’s free weekly memo.
 
Sponsors:
 
MoonPay is the leader in web3 infrastructure. They have partnered with Timbaland, Snoop Dogg, and many more. To learn more, visit moonpay.com/trapital
 
Enjoy this podcast? Rate and review the podcast here! ratethispodcast.com/trapital
 
Trapital is home for the business of hip-hop. Gain the latest insights from hip-hop’s biggest players by reading Trapital’s free weekly memo.


TRANSCRIPTION

[00:00:00] Russ Tannen: At one point I was booking in London a 150-capacity venue, and I thought it was amazing when 400 people would show up for the hundred 50 capacity show, and we try and cram them all in. And I always saw that was an amazing sign. Those shows were always free, but obviously, now we are ticketing around the world, many of the best 100 to 200-capacity venues that exist in some of the best music cities in the world. So what's fascinating for us is to not just be speaking to the