High ticket fees for events has spurred one Saskatoon man to create a platform that cuts out the middleman and leaves more money on the table for local events and attendees.
Liam Iverson started OnStage, an events booking website that he hopes will be an alternative to monopolized ticketing platforms.
“The idea was to basically build something that was more of an open platform that I would have very little necessary input in to having to control, because I basically wanted to democratize it for as many people as possible,” Iverson explained.
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Lorena Kelly, executive director for SaskMusic, said local options are more likely to get support.
She said there are fewer Canadian options available for event websites, adding that the merch integration from OnStage was an interesting feature.
“Anything that’s reducing fees for the presenters and for ultimately the audience to attend is great,” Kelly said.
She said ticket pricing, like a lot of things, is inflated, and that cost increase is stopping some people from attending events.
Event attendance is something that has been ebbing and flowing, Kelly said, saying things still haven’t returned to pre-pandemic numbers.
She said people have become very comfortable “cocooning” at home, but hopes word of mouth about events eventually gets more people out the door.
“We’re competing with Netflix and YouTube and everything else for entertainment time. And when people are really stretched and money is tight, live events can suffer.”
