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The 2012 Mixies
Changing the ticketing scene: Tikly
When the ticketing website Tikly launched last summer, it became one more option in an increasingly crowded Iowa ticketing market. Fees were low and 22-year-old company founder Emma Peterson’s enthusiasm was high, but the website’s roster of events was minimal.
But in the past few months, Tikly has racked up an impressive number of new events and clients. The company has signed on Vaudeville Mews and Bombay Bicycle Club as clients and is handling ticket sales for Saturday’s Gross Domestic Product, this summer’s Ankeny Unplugged concert series, The Rare Affair, Swinefest and In Any Event activities. In total Tikly now has more than 100 unique clients.
The big change came in February when Tikly announced Vaudeville Mews and BBC as clients, but also that with its new in-house software anyone register an event on the site in around a minute. There are no contracts or upfront fees. If you want to sell advance tickets nephew’s 10th birthday party, you can do it on Tikly.
If a ticket is $10 or less, Tikly charges the buyer an extra $1. Above that fees are 10 percent of the transaction, topping out at $7.50. When Ticketmaster fees can often add 50 percent to a ticket’s price, it’s quite a difference.
“We have very simple ticketing needs at the Mews, and her rates are lower as well,” said Vaudeville Mews owner Amedeo Rossi. “We’re now listing all our shows to sell in advance, where previously we just do shows that were $10 and up.”
Peterson doesn’t see herself as building partnerships with venues and bands, but establishing friendships with them, as well as buyers.
“I think there’s a lot of comradarie; we’re all in this together,” Peterson said. “We’re not making a land grab or hoping for a ticketing monopoly. We hope people can use Tikly to grow and maintain support around their events.”
Tikly has already branched outside of Iowa, selling tickets to events Colorado, Minneapolis, Chicago and Brooklyn (New York, not Iowa). They’re handling sales for Knowphest in Los Angeles and for singer-songwriter Steve Poltz’s Australian tour.
“If you don’t believe in improving the live events culture in every community you touch, we probably don’t have much to talk about,” Peterson said. “One thing you have to be to do something like this is stupid passionate.”
Tikly
More info at: tikly.co.
