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Dutch rock band Di-rect sold more than 14,000 tickets for their latest concert live stream, held at the Omniversum cinema in the Hague last Friday (5 March).
The show, the band’s sixth in the last 12 months, saw Di-rect perform in front of Omniversum’s giant, Imax-style domed screen – which at 840m² is 4,500 times larger than a home television, and wraps halfway around the audience – against the backdrop of immersive light show created by projection-mapping company Mr Beam.
Like previous Di-Rect live streams, tickets for the Omniversum event were sold by GUTS Tickets on a pay-what-you-choose model.
“A band in great shape, a high-quality livestream from a unique location, and the ‘pay-what-you-like’ ticketing defines its success”
“It’s great to see so much enthusiasm for Di-rect’s livestream concerts,” says promoter Agents After All in a statement. “Even though it was their sixth live stream in a year, it was their best sold one to date. The combination of a band in great shape, a high-quality livestream from a unique location, and the ‘pay-what-you-like’ ticketing with GUTS ticketing defines its success, we believe.
“A great compliment to everyone involved and we look forward to the next event on 1 May with the Hague Philharmonic Orchestra.”
Tickets for Di-rect’s seventh live stream, from AFAS Circus Theatre in the Hague, are on sale now via the band’s website. Pay-what-you-like pricing starts from a minimum of €2.
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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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