Ex-Coda agent Jason Edwards joins Dice

Mobile ticketing company Dice has announced the addition of three new members to its team. Jason Edwards, Leonie Cooper and Patrick Duffy have been appointed to the positions of UK head of music, editor and creative director, respectively.

Edwards comes to Dice from Coda Agency, where he worked as an agent, representing artists such as Years and Years, Grimes and Alessia Cara.

He tells IQ while he’s sad to be “leaving what I still consider to be the best agency in Europe”, he departed on “very good terms” and is looking forward getting stuck into his new, industry facing role at Dice.

Edwards says Dice offers “new ways of working with industry stakeholders”, such as managers, agents, promoters and labels, to help break acts “in ways ticketing companies haven’t done before”.

“It’s a new thing for a ticket agency to be involved in artist development,” he continues, “but we’ve got a platform people are looking at way beyond a ticketing platform. Our discovery aspect means use the app to stay in touch with artists – they enjoy the experience and want to keep coming back.

“I want to make sure the industry is aware that we’re much more than a ticketing service.”

“We’re much more than a ticketing service”

“Dice is bringing significant and long-needed change to the live music industry, and fans and artists love it,” Edwards says in a press statement. “Being able to lead the music team to help spread the word is an exciting proposition. We will help grow promoters margins, build sustainable and exciting careers for artists whilst ensuring fans have the best experience.”

The CEO of Dice, Phil Hutcheon, adds: “Dice is becoming the most important platform for fans to discover and buy tickets to the best gigs, club nights and festivals. Jason’s intelligence, insight and passion will help build artists, venues and promoters on the platform.

“Leonie’s one of our favourite writers and will bring expertise in creating stories to the large Dice community. And finally, Patrick’s creative background and leadership will help to propel Dice as a global brand. These new hires are joining Dice at an exciting time.”

UK-based Dice recently attracted controversy after introducing booking fees for certain shows, with managing director Russ Tannen saying the company’s growth, coupled with its recent expansion into North America, left a choice between introducing fees and Dice “being a small player forever”.

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