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10,000 fans buy tickets for virtual Di-rect show

The Royal Theatre in the Hague was at 15 times’ its physical capacity on Saturday, as nearly 10,000 people tuned into Di-rect’s livestreamed show

By IQ on 09 Jun 2020

Di-rect perform in the Hague

Di-rect perform in the Hague


image © Nathan Reinds

Nearly 10,000 people tuned into a ticketed livestream performance by the popular Dutch band Di-rect in the Hague on Saturday.

The veteran rock act played to an empty Royal Theatre (Koninklijke Schouwburg), a 680-seat venue in the centre of the Netherlands’ legislative capital, on 6 June, after having sold tickets for the concert on a pay-what-you-want basis.

With ticket sales of just shy of 10,000, the band – who were originally scheduled to play 20 festival shows this summer – played to a virtual crowd of around 15 times the Royal Theatre’s in-person capacity, according to ticket seller GUTS Tickets.



In addition to storing the tickets for the show, GUTS’s smartphone-based ticket wallet served as a chat room for fans to interact during the performance. (“By far my most special concert ever,” read one typical comment. “Dancing by myself in my sweatpants with a beer in my hand!”)

“We believe that in the future every performance will be livestreamed”

Tom Roetgering, CCO of GUTS Tickets, says the success of the event proves paid-for live streams are here to stay.

“We believe that in the future every performance will be livestreamed,” he says. “Not only does it add a source of revenue for the artist, but it also helps build a valuable and lasting connection to their fanbase. We are glad our system can make some significant contributions to this process.”

Other recent ticketed livestreamed successes include Laura Marling, who played the Union Chapel in Islington, London, also on Saturday, and Lewis Capaldi, who reportedly generated “arena-level”, though unspecified, ticket sales for his show at his parents’ house. K-pop band SuperM, meanwhile, sold a reported 75,000 tickets for their first Beyond Live show in April.

Following the success of the Royal Theatre concert, Di-rect announced another livestreamed performance, on Scheveningen beach, near the Hague, again ticketed by GUTS.

 


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