No-booking-fee app for gigs is launched

An app that allows Londoners to buy tickets to live music events and club nights directly without paying booking fees launched in the capital this week.

Its Shoreditch-based founders hope that their creation, called Dice, will change the landscape of London’s music scene is the same way that Uber - which connects users to drivers - has transformed the way people book cars.

The app, which is free to download, also “curates” events listings so that it is easier to keep a track of what is going on and creates an algorithm based on users’ likes and dislikes so that it is personalised to individuals.

The service is ticketless - users show their phone to enter the venue - which aims to crackdown on ticket touts because it only exists on the person’s iPhone or Android.

Users will also soon also be able to search based on location so that they can see what events are going on nearby.

CEO Phil Hutcheon, who has a background in the music industry and co-founded Dice with digital studio ustwo, said he first came up with the idea after becoming “frustrated” with the way tickets are bought and sold.

He said: “You have all these developments happening in tech with Uber, airbnb and I wanted to bring some of that thinking into the music world...We’re really inspired by the likes of Spotify. We’ve been talking to the music industry this entire time, talking to promoters, venues, artists, to find out what the best thing is for them.”

The app, which has about one million pounds in investment so far, is launching in London first with the aim of expanding across Europe and the US next year.

Around 100 events - including artists Jack White, alt-j and Little Dragon - have signed up so far, but its founders do not plan to expand to any further than 200 to avoid it becoming “overwhelming” and to ensure quality control.

Dice music editor Jen Long, a former Radio 1 presenter, said so far they have had positive feedback so far.