Ticketscript co-founder Frans Jonker has left his position as Eventbrite’s general manager for continental Europe.

Jonker co-founded Amsterdam-based Ticketscript, which grew to become Europe’s largest self-service ticketing platform, in 2006, and sold up to Eventbrite in January 2017.

“My work here is done,” he comments. “The values and mission of the company I have established will continue as part of Eventbrite.”

Jonker adds that he is “looking for new challenges outside of ticketing”.

Ruben Meiland, the other Ticketscript co-founder and Eventbrite’s global VP of product, remains in his role at Eventbrite HQ in San Francisco.

“Our original vision will live on”

Jasper Dijkstra, Eventbrite’s country director for Benelux, meanwhile, will continue to head up the company’s activities in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

“Ticketscript was a game-changer”, says Mailand, ” initially with promoters of electronic music in Amsterdam and later throughout Europe. We were, ultimately, so good at what we did that we drew the attention of a global platform.

“Although I find it very unfortunate to say goodbye to my co-founder, I think what we’ve achieved with Ticketscript is in line with what we’re doing now with Eventbrite, so our original vision will live on.”

Since acquiring Ticketscript, Eventbrite has also bought Ticketea in Spain, Picatic in Canada and, most significantly, Ticketfly in the US. The Ticketfly name will be retired from next year in favour of a new platform for US clubs, dubbed Eventbrite Music.

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RFID and cashless payment specialist Tappit has appointed Duco Smit, formerly director of business development at Eventbrite, as chief commercial officer.

Smit was the first employee of Ticketscript, which grew to become Europe’s largest self-service ticketing platform, and rose to become sales director for Europe before the company was sold to Eventbrite last January. At Eventbrite, he became director of business development for continental Europe.

In his new role, Smit will be based in the Netherlands, leading UK-based Tappit’s plans for international expansion and supporting the company in growing its roster of cashless festivals, events and venues. The company is the cashless payments partner of Bestival and Camp Bestival, as well as Creamfields Hong Kong and the after-race concerts at last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

“Duco shares our passion for live events and he joins at a very exciting time for the business”

“The growth of Tappit is clear, as they are rapidly becoming a leader in the live event space,” he comments. “It’s a great time to become involved, as businesses realise they can constantly improve their customer offer – and event safety – by analysing spend and footfall data throughout their venues.”

Jason Thomas, CEO of tappit, adds: “We’re extremely excited about Duco joining our global team. He brings invaluable experience from one of the largest event companies in the world and will play a key role in the company continuing to increase its global presence.

“Duco shares our passion for live events and he joins at a very exciting time for the business, as the global events market increasingly continues to embrace cashless solutions.”

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Hannah Morris, Ticketscript’s former head of sales in the UK and Republic of Ireland, has joined Vibe Tickets as commercial director.

Based in Vibe’s London office, Morris – whose other experience includes senior roles at Groupon and video production company Dreamtek – will lead Vibe Tickets’ commercial strategy and “play a key role in […] accelerating its monetisation plans”, according to the company.

Morris’s hiring is the first for Vibe since the events of May 2018, when the resale platform was forced into administration as a result of cashflow problems, before relaunching as a new limited company later that month.

“I’m incredibly excited to have joined Vibe at such a monumental time in its journey,” she comments. “The team is one of the most passionate and talented I’ve met. They have a desire to innovate and provide consumers with a genuine alternative choice within the ticketing industry.”

“Hannah is a great fit for Vibe with our big ambitions to change the marketplace”

Despite Vibe’s recent difficulties – which also include an abandoned attempt in late 2017 to transition from a social, ‘ethical’ ticket marketplace into a more conventional secondary ticketing platform under a host of ex-Ticketmaster execs, all of whom have since left – founder Luke Massie says the company “continues to grow as consumers are becoming more aware of the industry’s failings”.

“We have a real belief that if we are going to solve all of the issues in the secondary market, then we need to solve problems in the primary as well,” says Massie. “Hannah is a great fit for Vibe with our big ambitions to change the marketplace for the benefit of fans.

“Hannah’s appointment is one of a number of significant decisions we’ve made in recent months as we respond to unprecedented interest in Vibe’s overall vision. We expect to announce more important news in the coming weeks.”

Morris’s former company, Ticketscript, was acquired by Eventbrite in January 2017.

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Ticketing industry veteran Matt Ephgrave has been appointed chief operating officer of Festicket, a UK-based seller of festival ticket packages.

Ephgrave, who has previously worked at Ticketscript (acquired by Eventbrite in January), Yplan (now owned by Time Out) and Ticketmaster’s Seatwave, will oversee all Festicket’s daily operations, including global customer service, fulfilment and account and campaign management, from its London HQ.

Festicket packages tickets with travel, accommodation and other add-ons to create “complete festival trips”, working with more than 1,000 partner music festivals in 40 countries. It was recently ranked as the UK’s 6th fastest-growing technology company by the Sunday Times Tech Track 100, and is on course for 100% revenue growth in 2017.

“Festicket undoubtedly has a very big future, and it was an easy choice to come and be a part of it”

The company last July closed an additional US$6.3 million in funding, bringing its total investment to date to $10m.

“Right now is an exciting time for Festicket, with Matt bringing huge experience to the team, a number of very important partnerships in the pipeline and another year of significant drawing to a close,” says Festicket founder and CEO Zack Sabban. “Ambitious planning for 2018 called for someone of Matt’s skills and know-how, so we’re delighted that he is joining us for the next stage in the Festicket journey.”

Ephgrave adds: “This is a fantastic opportunity to work with a strong team that’s more than used to success. Festicket undoubtedly has a very big future, and it was an easy choice to come and be a part of it.”

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Eventbrite has bolstered its presence in live music with the acquisition of Amsterdam-based Ticketscript, Europe’s largest self-service ticketing service, for an undisclosed sum.

The two companies in 2016 processed more than 35 million tickets, worth over €500 million, for close to a million events, and Eventbrite says the acquisition sees the San Francisco-headquartered company become Europe’s third-largest ticketing platform (after Ticketmaster and CTS Eventim).

Ticketscript, founded in 2006, also has offices in Britain, Spain, Germany and Belgium. Eventbrite, meanwhile, is active in eight countries worldwide, including Germany, the Netherlands the Republic of Ireland.

A spokesperson for Eventbrite tells IQ the combined company will trade as either Eventbrite or Ticketscript depending on the country. “The long-term goal is to operate one platform, the brand of which could be Eventbrite or Ticketscript, depending on what makes the most sense for our customers in the respective market,” she explains. “This will be done in a thoughtful way, with appropriate notice, when the time is right.

“In the upcoming months, both Eventbrite and Ticketscript will be working to ensure a smooth transition to create a combined platform.”

“This acquisition perfectly aligns with our strategic vision to become the world’s leading marketplace for live experiences”

Ticketscript CEO Frans Jonker – who becomes Eventbrite’s general manager for continental Europe – comments: “We have been building significant market presence in Europe for ten years, with a focus on self-service ticketing for music events. We share Eventbrite’s passion for allowing event organisers to control their event marketing and ticketing while retaining their end customer data.

“Joining forces with Eventbrite, the global innovation leader in event technology, will no doubt help further accelerate the digital transformation of the European live experience industry.”

Eventbrite CEO Julia Hartz adds: “This acquisition supercharges Eventbrite’s footprint in Europe and brings ten additional years of traction in the music space and experience in European markets to our business.

“It perfectly aligns with our strategic vision to become the world’s leading marketplace for live experiences, and adds significant assets and technical power to our platform. We are looking forward to this new partnership combining the best solutions from both companies, and bringing them to our customers around the world.”

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