What Sidestep does

Sidestep Technologies Inc. is a New York-based private mobile commerce company that operates a direct-to-fan concert merchandise platform. Founded in 2013, the company built an iOS-only mobile application that allows concert-goers to browse, pre-order, and purchase merchandise, VIP experiences, and exclusive items from touring musicians. Orders are fulfilled either via QR code-based pickup at venue merchandise stands or through home delivery, with fans able to transact days before a show, from their seats during the event, or after the concert concludes. The platform's core technology is a mobile application integrating store browsing, payment processing, order management, and venue redemption into a single iOS interface, supplemented by an e-commerce storefront at shopsidestep.com.

The company serves two primary customer segments: live event attendees seeking to avoid merchandise lines and limited-edition item shortages, and musical artists and management teams seeking more efficient merchandise distribution with reduced booth staffing and inventory overhead. Sidestep earns revenue through transaction fees on merchandise sales facilitated between artists and fans; specific fee structures and pricing tiers are not publicly disclosed. The company has onboarded notable touring artists including Fall Out Boy, Train, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Panic! At the Disco, The Maine, Matt Nathanson, Boyce Avenue, and New Politics, and has received public endorsement from Jared Leto.

Sidestep has raised approximately $1.7M across disclosed funding rounds from MaC Venture Capital, SierraMaya360, Parkwood Entertainment, Crush Music/Ventures, Manhead Merchandise, Scout Ventures, Atom Factory, SMASHD Labs, and RHL Ventures. The company was selected as a finalist in TechCrunch and the NFL's 1st and Future Competition, signaling interest in extending its merchandise model beyond music into sports. The company operates with 1-10 employees and is described as 'loved by thousands of people worldwide.'

Name

Sidestep

Legal name

Sidestep Technologies Inc.

Website

https://SidestepApp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sidestep Technologies Inc. operates an iOS mobile platform that lets concert-goers pre-order and purchase artist merchandise for QR-code pickup at venues or home delivery. The New York-based company serves touring musicians and live event fans, earning transaction fees on merchandise sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Event Merchandise Commerce

NAICS

Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, Book, and Miscellaneous Retailers (459)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Recorded Music Retail & D2C Merch Bundles (MPAIAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sports, Concert & Venue Gift Shops (CRALAJAH)

Keywords

• Concert merchandise platform
• Live event commerce
• Mobile merchandise app
• Artist merchandise sales
• Venue merchandise pickup

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Merchandise Transaction Fees: Sidestep facilitates merchandise transactions between artists and fans, earning a commission on each sale. The platform enables pre-orders and on-site purchases for pickup or delivery.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Sidestep operates a mobile commerce platform (iOS app and shopsidestep.com web storefront) that lets concert-goers browse, pre-order, and purchase merchandise, VIP experiences, and exclusive items from touring artists before, during, and after live shows. Purchases are fulfilled either via QR code scan pickup at the venue merchandise stand or through home delivery, eliminating the need to wait in physical merchandise lines. The platform connects artists and their management teams directly with fans for direct-to-fan merchandise distribution.

Product overview

Sidestep is a single mobile application platform that connects fans directly with artists by enabling concert merchandise browsing, purchasing, and pickup. The app serves as the core product, allowing users to pre-order merchandise before shows, purchase during events from their seats, and collect items via QR code scan at merchandise stands or receive home delivery. The product portfolio consists of the Sidestep iOS app which integrates all functionality including store browsing, purchasing, order management, and QR-based venue pickup into one unified mobile experience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sidestep Mobile App iOS mobile application that enables concert attendees to browse upcoming shows, pre-order merchandise and VIP experiences days before the show, purchase from their seat during the concert, or buy after the event for VIP pickup or doorstep delivery. Items reserved for pickup are redeemed at the venue merchandise stand via QR code scan, eliminating physical wait times. Targeted at individual music fans and concert-goers.
• Sidestep Web Store (shopsidestep.com) Web-based e-commerce storefront extending Sidestep's merchandise browsing and purchasing experience to desktop and mobile web users, allowing fans to browse upcoming shows and purchase merchandise for venue pickup or home delivery.

Quantifiable outcome

• Eliminates wait times at concert merchandise stands

Named customers8 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Music Glue: Music Glue provides direct-to-fan e-commerce stores for artists, including merch bundles, vinyl, and tour-specific products. It competes with Sidestep in the artist-to-fan merchandise space with comparable transaction-fee economics and artist-side tooling.
• Merchbar: Merchbar is an online marketplace aggregating official artist merchandise across many bands and acts. It is directly comparable to Sidestep because both aggregate official artist merch for fan purchase, though Merchbar focuses on online fulfillment rather than concert-venue pickup.
• Manhead Merchandise: Manhead is a music merchandise management and distribution company that handles merch for many major touring artists. It is comparable because it operates in the same artist merchandise value chain as Sidestep and is actually an investor in Sidestep, indicating direct category overlap and partnership potential.
• Bandcamp: Bandcamp is a music-focused marketplace where artists sell physical merch (vinyl, shirts, bundles) directly to fans. It is directly comparable to Sidestep because both serve the artist-to-fan merchandise sales use case within the music industry, though Bandcamp focuses on online sales rather than venue pickup.
• Topspin Media: Topspin was a direct-to-fan commerce platform acquired by Beats/Apple that enabled artists to sell merch, VIP experiences, and exclusives to fans. It is comparable because it served the same artist merch and experience marketplace category that Sidestep targets, and was a notable competitor before its acquisition.

Emerging players

• Bandsintown: Bandsintown is a concert discovery and ticketing app with a large installed base of active concert-goers. It is comparable because it owns the top-of-funnel fan relationship that Sidestep needs to drive app downloads and pre-orders, making it a potential distribution partner or competitive threat.
• SeatGeek: SeatGeek is a ticketing platform increasingly expanding into event-day fan experiences, including mobile entry and on-site services. It is comparable because its mobile-first venue entry architecture parallels Sidestep's QR-code pickup model, and SeatGeek could expand into concert merchandise distribution adjacent to its ticketing business.

Broad incumbents

• Etsy: Etsy is a broad online marketplace where independent artists and small sellers offer custom and handmade merchandise. It is comparable because fans looking for concert-adjacent and band-related merch often discover products there, making it an indirect competitor for fan merch spend.
• Live Nation: Live Nation is the world's largest live entertainment promoter and operator of Ticketmaster. It is comparable because it controls venue merchandise logistics for many of the same tours where Sidestep operates, and represents both a potential integration partner and a competitive threat if it builds or acquires its own DTC merch platform.
• Shopify: Shopify is the dominant DTC e-commerce platform that artists and bands use to run their own merchandise stores directly. It is comparable because it represents the primary alternative path for artists to sell merch without an intermediary like Sidestep, and provides the underlying infrastructure many independent artist stores rely on.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sidestepapp
• Facebookfacebook.com/sidestepapp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sidestep-app

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors10 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sidestep