TodayTix receives $73m investment
TodayTix, a ticketing platform for theatre shows, has announced a US$73 million equity investment led by growth-oriented private equity firm Great Hill Partners.
The investment will be used for internal modifications and closing out secondary purchases of original investors, but predominantly for outward-facing growth and “utilising the company’s proprietary data-driven audience feedback to offer new shows, arts and cultural experiences”.
The company will also “double down” on expanding its technologies in discovery and personalisation for both consumers and partners.
“By understanding the ways next-generation audiences purchase and experience shows, we can forever change the way people discover art in their cities,” says TodayTix chief executive and co-founder Fenty.
“Our audiences, married with a community of visionary content creators, establish an unprecedented ecosystem of engagement between the two sides of live entertainment. While ticket sales are the bedrock of our relationships, these are only the beginning of our content and discovery ambitions.”
Founded in New York in 2013 by former Broadway producers Brian Fenty and Merritt Baer, TodayTix is now active in 15 markets around the world. The company has sold more than four million tickets to date, and claims to account for 8% of all Broadway tickets sold per year and 4% of London’s West End.
The company works with 1,300 venue and producer partners, and to date has run lottery and last-minute discount ticket promotions for more than 900 productions.
In October 2018, TodayTix launched its event production division TodayTix Presents, producing events across its active markets. Its first production, in September 2018, was a sold-out concert with Broadway performers Darren Criss, Matthew Morrison, and Ariana DeBose, featuring the music of Madonna, Katy Perry, and the Beatles.
“By understanding the ways next-generation audiences purchase and experience shows, we can forever change the way people discover art in their cities”
“From our humble beginnings in 2013, to our current global business on three continents serving millions of culture lovers, TodayTix has changed arts and entertainment ticket buying for the next generation,” says the ticketing company’s co-founder and president Baer.
“This investment from Great Hill Partners will allow us to take our ambitions to the next level; we couldn’t be more excited about the road ahead,” adds Baer.
“TodayTix is rapidly changing the way millennials and other consumers connect with live cultural experiences,” comments Michael Kumin, a managing partner at Great Hill Partners.
“We look forward to working with Brian, Merritt and their talented management team to expand the Company’s product and service offerings and accelerate its push into new geographies.”
Boston-based Great Hill Partners focuses on mid-market growth businesses. The firm recently led the buyout of Gizmodo Media Group from Univision and has invested in companies including Ziff Davis, IGN, Momondo Group, Wayfair and The RealReal.
Methuselah Advisors guided the Great Hill Partners’ investment.
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TodayTix launches event production arm, TodayTix Presents
Last-minute theatre ticketing platform TodayTix has announced plans to move beyond “simply processing ticket orders into producing live experiences audiences want most” with the launch of a new event production division, TodayTix Presents.
TodayTix, co-founded by former Broadway producers Brian Fenty and Merritt Baer, launched in New York in 2013 and is now also active in London, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Boston, Connecticut, Philadelphia, Seattle, Toronto, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston (Texas) and the Berkshires (Massachusetts). Its partners include more than 450 venues and institutions globally, for whom it sells last-minute tickets to theatrical shows, musicals, comedy shows, concert, operas and dance events.
“When we launched TodayTix in 2013, our mission was to unlock access to theatre and the arts by introducing a simple way to buy and sell tickets,” says CEO Fenty (pictured). “Today, we serve more than 4.6 million customers globally, where more than two-thirds of our customers see multiple shows a year.
TodayTix Presents initially aims to produce three events each quarter across 13 cities
“As we ushered a new, younger demographic into this world over the past five years, we studied their behaviour and solicited their feedback to understand the types of experiences they crave most, which is the driving creative force behind the productions you’ll see from TodayTix Presents.”
TodayTix Presents initially aims to produce three events each quarter across the 13 cities in which it’s active. Its first production was in September 2018, in the form of a sold-out concert with Broadway performers including Darren Criss, Matthew Morrison, and Ariana DeBose, featuring the music of Madonna, Katy Perry, the Beatles and more.
The next TodayTix Presents event will be held in early November in New York city.
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