Ticket reselling platform Seatwave makes first US acquisition

Seatwave has expanded into mobile live music discovery by snapping up booking app Timbre for an undisclosed amount.

A maiden US acquisition, and second overall, has seen the Seatwave Group, owner of ticket marketplace Seatwave, diversify its offering. The move has also been described as the first of many in the mobile space.

Founded in 2007 and backed by venture capital firms including Accel Partners, Atlas Venture and Fidelity Growth Partners, Seatwave has now facilitated the sale of 2.3 million tickets for live music, sport and theatre in Europe.

Newly-acquired Timbre helps users find concerts and listen to artists before purchasing tickets. Its platform allows for the purchasing of tickets directly from venues, primary sellers and resellers such as Seatwave.

The Boston-based company links with music sources such as iTunes and Spotify as well as integrating maps to aid with nearby listings.

Seatwave Timbre app

The app-based product is designed to bring together sourcing and then buying tickets

Seatwave Group CEO Ajay Chowdhury says, ‘With Timbre we want to help music fans to go to more gigs and create more live music memories. The Timbre app offers the whole package from browsing gigs, to playing tracks and purchasing tickets from multiple sources.

‘By using Timbre, fans have the UK’s most comprehensive live music listings at their fingertips, removing the hassle from planning a night out. This is the first of a wave of new mobile products we plan to launch.’

To coincide with the acquisition, Seatwave has launched Timbre to the UK market, opening up information for 18,000 gigs.

Former Shazam chairman Chowdhury took over as CEO of Seatwave in September 2013 after founder Joe Cohen moved over to the chairman position.

With Seatwave having raised approximately $53 million of venture capital, Timbre has also utilised the funding method to grow. Two $360,000 rounds, one in December 2012 and another in February 2013, have been populated by shared investor Atlas Ventures as well as Boston Seed Capital and Bantam Group.

See also: Ticketbis targets further global expansion after latest angel round

Hunter Ruthven

Bernard Williamson

Hunter was the Editor for GrowthBusiness.co.uk from 2012 to 2014, before moving on to Caspian Media Ltd to be Editor of Real Business.