In 2016, TicketWeb announced a powerful evolution of its platform with the launch of TicketWeb Backline. Created in collaboration with charity Music Venue Trust (MVT) and with input from local venues, TicketWeb Backline is specifically designed to empower independent venues and promoters.
Born out of TicketWeb’s multiyear partnership with MVT, both realised independent venues needed more when it came to ticketing. As such, the two teamed up to tour each region of the UK and attend regional meet ups to listen to the problems faced by grassroots venues, and create a platform to meet these needs.
TicketWeb Backline is a client portal, giving grassroots venues (max capacity 1,500) and promoters control and a complete solution to sell tickets through their own bespoke platforms directly to fans. Services include end-to-end management, event day functionality, social integration, mobile capabilities, integrated marketing and more. Venues can even sell tickets via the Checkin mobile App or web POS system – allowing venues to sell on the door for gigs taking place that night or for future shows, whilst having the entire attendance stats plug into the client portal so venues can audit and report in detail on shows. Those who ticket exclusively with Backline benefit from complete PRS management by TicketWeb and MVT, one of the main concerns independent venues deal with.
Sam Isles, Managing Director of TicketWeb, said: “At TicketWeb, maintaining a thriving grassroots music industry is at the heart of what we do. With venues finding it harder than ever to stay afloat, we see it as our duty to do whatever we can to make life easier for them. Working in partnership with Music Venue Trust has given us first hand insight into the needs and concerns of venues and promoters, and we are confident that TicketWeb Backline will help solve these issues and support venues, promoters and artists across the UK.”
TicketWeb’s Backline platform is now being used by over 35 venues, including The Brook, The Horn, Night & Day, The Musician in Leicester & many more! It’s not just established venues that are on board, with The Junction in Ashford and Chelmsford’s Hideaways both opening just this month, and both ticketing exclusively with TicketWeb Backline. The Brook in Southampton has been using TicketWeb Backline for a full year in 2017 and since using the platform they have seen an increase in online ticket sales.
Liz from The Brook said: “We began the process of changing our website after speaking with representatives from Ticketweb at Venues Day 2016. It was a huge decision for us to make… but knew we needed to adapt to improve.”
“Ticket web have helped us enormously throughout and have been committed to helping us create a website unique to The Brook, maintaining a sense of who we are, but also bringing new life and updated features. They have offered continuous support in ensuring they understood and enabled what we wanted and addressed any issues that crept up and have been a brilliant technical support day and night!”
“Some key priorities that finally made us change our online ticket agent were PRS payments being dealt with directly by TicketWeb, automatic generation of Facebook Events to save an enormous amount of time having to do it manually, the freshness of the sliders and images and the ease of adding events and attractions to the website. Also, as part of signing up with TicketWeb, we have the benefit of all of our gigs being managed and promoted by Ents 24, who populate them and then give us a wealth of options to promote them ourselves. This means our audience reach is much greater than we could ever achieve on our own. All of these attributes have greatly improved the website and we feel it is a much easier site for our customers to navigate.”
“Another significant point to make is that TicketWeb has allowed our website to grow and evolve. It is a huge part of the character of The Brook and not an easy commodity to create overnight. So we have a great new website but can still add to and personalise it as we realise a sense of how we want it to engage our current audience and also attract new gig goers. Thank you TicketWeb, let it be a long lasting partnership!”
At TicketWeb we believe it is vital to support independent venues in this difficult climate for night-time industries. We are proud to have evolved our technology to provide the best ticketing platform to service independent venues and promoters, and fans alike.
For more information about TicketWeb Backline, email [email protected].
