DEAG, Handwerker buy into VR company

Deutsche Entertainment AG (DEAG) and its subsidiary Handwerker Promotion have each taken a stake in TimeRide, a Munich-based developer of virtual-reality (VR) experiences for the entertainment and education markets.

Promoter Handwerker has acquired 4% of TimeRide, while parent company DEAG takes an 8% stake, in a deal DEAG says positions the company as an early adopter of VR in live entertainment in Germany.

As part of the agreement, tickets to all TimeRide events will also be sold through MyTicket, DEAG’s own-strong performing ticketing platform, which has been identified as a major driver of growth in successive recent financial reports.

TimeRide is chiefly known for its time-travel experiences, in which audiences will be transported to historical VR replicas of various European cities, although DEAG notes the company “plans to extend its [offering] to other areas of live entertainment via virtual and mixed reality” in future.

“We’re confident that VR entertainment will be increasingly popular with visitors”

“TimeRide is a pioneer in VR entertainment in Germany with its innovative entertainment concept,” says DEAG CEO Peter Schwenkow. “We want to benefit from the growth opportunities of virtual entertainment [in] coming years with our acquired stake and exclusive distribution partnership on MyTicket.

“At the same time, we’re further expanding our activities in the family entertainment and arts and exhibitions divisions with this future-oriented field. We’re confident that VR entertainment […] will be increasingly popular with visitors. We see future sales potential from a possible roll-out in Germany and Europe coming from this finalised sales partnership involving MyTicket and TimeRide.”

Other music businesses with interests in VR companies include Live Nation, which has partnerships with Hulu VR and NextVR, Warner Music Group, which has a joint venture with VFX studio Digital Domain, and Universal Music Group, which recently launched its own VRLive platform.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.