How Does Eventbrite Make Money?

Eventbrite is a ticketing and event management platform which primarily makes money via ticket fees (service fees). Thus those are generated when paid tickets are sold via the platform. Those service fees are calculated according to the three levels of services (Essentials – 2% ticket fee plus 79 cents, Professional – 3.5% ticket fee plus $1.59, and Premium). Ticket fees are capped at $9.95 per ticket.

Business Model Element	Analysis	Implications	Examples
Value Proposition	Eventbrite’s value proposition revolves around making event planning and ticketing easy and accessible. For Event Organizers, Eventbrite offers: – Event Management: Tools for creating, managing, and promoting events. – Ticketing Services: A platform to sell tickets online. – Payment Processing: Secure payment processing for ticket sales. For Attendees, Eventbrite provides: – Discoverability: A wide range of events to discover and attend. – Convenience: Easy online ticket purchasing. – Mobile Experience: Access to event details on mobile devices. Eventbrite focuses on simplifying the event planning process for organizers and making event discovery and attendance convenient for attendees.	Simplifies event planning, ticketing, and promotion for event organizers. Attracts organizers seeking user-friendly tools for event management and ticket sales. Provides a platform for attendees to discover and attend a variety of events conveniently. Offers accessibility and convenience to individuals looking for event options. Serves as an alternative to traditional ticketing and event planning methods.	– Event management tools for organizers. – Secure online ticket sales and payment processing. – Wide range of events for attendees to discover. – Easy online ticket purchasing. – Mobile access to event details. – Appeals to organizers seeking user-friendly event solutions. – Provides accessibility and convenience to event attendees. – Offers an alternative to traditional event planning and ticketing.
Customer Segments	Eventbrite serves multiple customer segments, including: 1. Event Organizers: Individuals and organizations planning events. 2. Event Attendees: Individuals looking for events to attend. 3. Event Promoters: Professionals promoting events on behalf of organizers. Eventbrite caters to a broad spectrum of users involved in event planning, promotion, and attendance.	Focuses on diverse customer segments with varying roles in the event industry. Customizes user experiences based on the specific needs and objectives of event organizers, attendees, and promoters. Provides a platform for various customer types, including individual organizers, large organizations, and event promoters. Offers versatile event management and ticketing solutions.	– Serving diverse customer segments broadens the user base. – Customized experiences cater to specific event-related needs. – Provides a platform for various customer types. – Offers versatile event management and ticketing solutions.
Distribution Strategy	Eventbrite’s distribution strategy relies on its online platform, mobile apps, and partnerships with event promoters. Users can access Eventbrite’s platform through its website and mobile apps, making it accessible across devices. Eventbrite also partners with event promoters to list and promote events, expanding its event inventory. The company leverages these partnerships to reach a broader audience and increase event listings.	Utilizes its website and mobile apps for direct access to its platform, catering to users’ device preferences. Collaborates with event promoters to expand the event inventory and reach. Provides users with convenient access across various devices. Leverages partnerships to increase its market presence and serve a broader audience. Maintains a multi-channel distribution strategy for accessibility and convenience.	– Website and mobile apps cater to users’ device preferences. – Partnerships with event promoters expand the event inventory. – Provides convenient access to Eventbrite’s offerings. – Leverages partnerships to reach a broader audience. – Multi-channel distribution enhances accessibility and convenience for users.
Revenue Streams	Eventbrite generates revenue through various fee structures, including service fees and payment processing fees. Its primary revenue streams include: 1. Service Fees: Revenue from fees charged to event organizers for ticket sales and event promotion. 2. Payment Processing Fees: Revenue from processing payments for ticket sales securely. 3. Subscriptions: Revenue from organizers subscribing to premium features and services. Service fees are a significant source of revenue.	Relies on service fees as a primary source of income, charging event organizers for the convenience and promotion of their events. Earns revenue from payment processing fees as it securely processes payments for ticket sales. Gains revenue from organizers subscribing to premium features and services. Prioritizes service fees for sustaining operations and supporting its business model. Utilizes payment processing fees and subscriptions for additional income.	– Service fees provide a steady revenue stream. – Payment processing fees generate income from secure payment processing. – Subscriptions offer revenue from premium features and services. – Prioritizes service fees for its business model. – Utilizes payment processing fees and subscriptions for additional income.
Marketing Strategy	Eventbrite’s marketing strategy includes online advertising, content marketing, partnerships with event promoters, and attendee engagement. The company advertises its platform and events through online channels and social media platforms to reach a wide audience. Content marketing showcases successful events and provides tips for event planning. Partnerships with event promoters promote collaboration and expand event listings. Attendee engagement efforts encourage users to discover and attend events actively.	Utilizes online advertising and social media to reach a broad audience interested in events and event planning. Showcases successful events and provides valuable content through content marketing. Collaborates with event promoters to expand event listings and serve more organizers. Encourages attendee engagement to drive event discovery and attendance. Fosters a sense of community among its user base.	– Online advertising and social media reach a wide event-focused audience. – Content marketing showcases successful events and provides valuable insights. – Partnerships with event promoters expand event listings. – Attendee engagement drives event discovery and attendance. – Fosters a sense of community among its user base.
Organization Structure	Eventbrite’s organizational structure includes teams dedicated to technology development, event management, customer support, partnerships, data analytics, and marketing. Technology development teams focus on platform enhancements and feature development. Event management teams work with organizers to ensure successful events. Customer support teams assist users with inquiries and transactions. Partnerships teams collaborate with event promoters. Data analytics teams provide insights for pricing and event trends. Marketing teams handle promotional efforts. This structure supports platform excellence, event success, customer satisfaction, collaborations, data-driven strategies, and marketing effectiveness.	Employs specialized teams for technology development, event management, customer support, partnerships, data analytics, and marketing. Prioritizes platform enhancements and feature development through technology teams. Ensures the success of events by working closely with organizers through event management teams. Assists users with inquiries and transactions through customer support teams. Collaborates with event promoters through partnerships teams to expand event listings. Utilizes data analytics for pricing and event trend insights. Manages promotional efforts and content creation through marketing teams. Ensures platform excellence, event success, customer satisfaction, collaborations, data-driven strategies, and marketing effectiveness.	– Specialized teams drive platform excellence and innovation. – Ensures the success of events through collaboration with organizers. – Assists users with inquiries and transactions for enhanced satisfaction. – Collaborates with event promoters to expand event listings. – Utilizes data analytics for pricing and event trend insights. – Manages promotional efforts and content creation effectively. – Ensures platform excellence, customer satisfaction, and data-driven strategies.
Competitive Advantage	Eventbrite’s competitive advantage stems from its user-friendly platform, extensive event inventory, and collaborative partnerships. User-Friendly Platform: Offers an intuitive platform for event planning and ticketing. Extensive Event Inventory: Provides a wide range of events for attendees to discover. Collaborative Partnerships: Works with event promoters to expand event listings and reach a broader audience. Eventbrite stands out as a platform that simplifies event planning, offers a variety of events, and fosters collaboration.	Derives a competitive advantage from: – A user-friendly platform for event planning and ticketing. – A vast event inventory with diverse options. – Collaborative partnerships to expand event listings. Stands out as a platform that simplifies event-related processes, offers accessibility to a wide range of events, and collaborates to serve a broader audience.	– Offers a user-friendly platform for event planning and ticketing. – Provides a vast event inventory with diverse options. – Collaborates with event promoters to expand event listings. – Stands out as a platform that simplifies event-related processes and offers accessibility to a wide range of events.

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Origin story

Eventbrite is a ticketing and event management platform, enabling users to browse, promote, or even create local events.

The company was founded in 2006 by Kevin Hartz, Julia Hartz, and Renaud Visage as the first major player in the United States event management market. Both Kevin and Julia Hartz recognized that the event ticket industry was plagued by bad customer experience, high fees, and inefficiency caused by a lack of adequate technology.

Its mission is “to bring the world together through live experiences, and since inception, we have been at the center of the experience economy, helping to transform the way people organize and attend events.”

As a result, Eventbrite was formed. In the ensuing years, the company has acquired several other ticketing services, including Vancouver-based Picatic and Spanish service Ticketea.

Users can search the platform to attend a multitude of events in categories such as education, music, sport, and charity. There is also functionality for non-commercial events including high school reunions and family gatherings.

Event organizers also have access to tools designed to assist them in event management. This includes page templates and a dashboard to monitor registrations and ticket sales.

Eventbrite mission and vision

Eventbrite mission is “to bring the world together through live experiences.”

As the company highlights “we believe live experiences are fundamental to fulfilling a human desire to connect.”

Eventbrite revenue model

Eventbrite derives most of its revenue from a percentage cut of the sale of an event ticket (service fee). Therefore, the platform does not make money on free events.

For every ticket sale, Eventbrite collects a fixed payment processing fee of 2.5% plus a service fee.

As Eventbrite explained in its 10K:

Our success in serving creators is measured in large part by the number of tickets sold on our platform that generate ticket fees, referred to as paid ticket volume. We consider paid ticket volume an important indicator of the underlying health of the business. We have previously referred to this metric as ‘paid tickets’ and we calculate and report paid ticket volume in the same manner as we calculated and reported paid tickets. Our paid ticket volume for events outside of the United States represented 39.2%, 36.1% and 34.1% for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

The service fee is calculated according to the three Eventbrite plans an event organizer can select from:

Essentials – in the Essentials package, Eventbrite takes 2% of each ticket sold plus a further 79 cents.
Professional – here, Eventbrite takes 3.5% of each ticket sold plus a further $1.59.
Premium – prices are available upon request.

Note that regardless of the ticket price, the total service fee per ticket is capped at $9.95.

Organizer application

Event organizers who want to enhance the event experience can also use the Eventbrite Organizer application. Some of the functionality on offer includes the ability to sell tickets or merchandise at the door and QR ticket scanning.

The app itself is free of charge, but Eventbrite collects a 3% payment processing fee in addition to a service charge of $1 for every transaction. Using the app, organizers can also rent the necessary equipment to run the event with prices starting at $99.

Donation tickets

Eventbrite allows organizers to collect donations for the events they host. In other words, event attendees choose the price they want to pay for admission.

The company will take a percentage of this donation, based loosely on the transaction fee structure described above.

In the case of donations, however, no more than 2% can be charged per ticket sold. Depending on the payment method, a further 2.5% payment processing fee may be added.

The total fee collected for donated tickets is also dependent on the country where the event is taking place.

Key takeaways:

Eventbrite is an online ticketing and event management platform. It was founded in response to the expensive and inefficient event ticketing plagued with poor customer service.
Eventbrite makes most of its money by taking a percentage cut of each event ticket sold. The exact percentage is dependent upon the plan the event organizer selects. Importantly, the company does not charge for the creation of a free event.
Eventbrite also charges for increased functionality through their in-house application. Selling tickets or merchandise at the door and the hiring of event equipment are two such revenue sources.

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