Universe
Universe is a web-based ticketing platform, wholly-owned by Live Nation Entertainment, that enables event organizers to create, manage, and sell general admission and timed-entry tickets on their own branded websites, with distribution through Ticketmaster's global marketplace.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Universe does
Universe is an event ticketing platform that enables event organizers to create, manage, and sell tickets for general admission and timed-entry events. Founded in 2011 and headquartered in San Francisco, the company operates as Universe Experiences Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV), the parent company of Ticketmaster. Universe serves event organizers across multiple verticals including individual event creators, attractions, clubs, and venues, providing them with brand-first ticketing infrastructure that integrates directly into their own websites via embeddable widgets and a self-serve event creation dashboard.
The platform is built on a web-based architecture with an open API and developer portal at developers.universe.com, enabling 5,000+ partner integrations through Zapier alongside native connections to Mailchimp, Google Analytics, Audience Republic, Tradable Bits, and the Ticketmaster marketplace. Core product features include general admission and timed-entry event creation, customizable checkout flows for upsells and audience insights, scheduled analytics and reporting, and white-label embedded ticketing via a single snippet of code. Universe's distribution infrastructure provides access to Ticketmaster's marketplace reaching 100M+ monthly visitors across 25 countries, 14M monthly app users, and 1,000+ additional distribution partners. Customer support and marketing resources are shared within the Live Nation Entertainment group, with dedicated account teams and localized support in 19 countries across 9 languages.
Universe's business model is a marketplace commission on ticket sales processed through its platform, supplemented by premium services for enterprise event organizers. Public pricing is not disclosed; organizers are directed to sales contact. The company previously raised approximately $2.5 million in early-stage funding across three rounds from 2011 to 2014 (including a $500,000 round led by Real Ventures in 2013), prior to or in connection with its integration into the Live Nation Entertainment group. Universe positions itself as a complementary brand alongside Ticketmaster, targeting the long-tail of general admission and timed-entry event organizers that fall outside Ticketmaster's core venue ticketing franchise, with named competitors including Eventbrite, StubHub, AXS, and SeatGeek.
Universe firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Universe
- Legal name
- Universe Experiences Inc.
- Website
- https://universe.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Universe is a web-based ticketing platform, wholly-owned by Live Nation Entertainment, that enables event organizers to create, manage, and sell general admission and timed-entry tickets on their own branded websites, with distribution through Ticketmaster's global marketplace.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Universe industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Event Ticketing
- NAICS
- Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities (711320), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities (71132)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Event Discovery, Listings & Calendar Platforms (MPAGAJAL)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Access Control, Credentialing & Entry Management (Scan/Turnstiles/RFID) (MPAGAJAG)
Keywords
Where Universe is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Universe business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Ticket Sales Commission: Universe charges fees on ticket sales processed through its platform, acting as an open ticketing marketplace where event organizers (Sellers) list and sell tickets. The platform processes payments, sends confirmations, and provides customer support as part of the transaction service.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels4 records
Universe product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Universe is an open event ticketing marketplace that lets event organizers create, manage, and sell tickets for general admission and timed-entry events through its own platform, on Ticketmaster's global marketplace, and via 1,000+ distribution partners. Organizers can embed ticketing on their own websites with a single snippet of code while retaining ownership of customer data, customize checkout, and access analytics, fan data marketing, and multi-country support backed by Live Nation Entertainment.
Product overview
Universe is an event ticketing platform owned by Live Nation Entertainment that operates as a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core Universe platform enables event organizers to create, manage, and sell tickets for general admission and timed-entry events. This core platform is augmented by Brand-First Solutions (embeddable ticketing widgets for organizer websites), Event Creation Tools (event management and analytics), a Distribution Network (access to 1,000+ partners including Ticketmaster), and Marketing Services (fan data and campaign optimization). The platform also integrates with Zapier for 5,000+ additional tool connections.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Universe Core Platform An open event ticketing marketplace that hosts event listings and sells tickets on behalf of companies and individuals acting as Sellers. The platform supports general admission and timed-entry events with end-to-end event creation, ticket management, payment processing, and distribution to fans across the Universe website, Ticketmaster marketplace, and partner network. It is targeted at event organizers of all sizes seeking brand-controlled ticketing infrastructure with global reach.
- Brand-First Solutions A white-label ticketing solution that lets fans discover, browse, and purchase tickets directly on the event organizer's own website through a single snippet of code. Organizers retain full ownership and control of their customer data, customize the checkout flow to offer upgrades, capture audience insights, and convert faster while leveraging Universe's backend ticketing infrastructure.
- Distribution Network A distribution service that syndicates event listings to 1,000+ partners including the Ticketmaster marketplace, enabling events to reach 100M+ monthly visitors across 25 countries and 14M monthly app users. It surfaces events to incremental audiences in priority markets on major global platforms while preserving organizer brand ownership.
- Universe Marketing Services A managed marketing service that pairs event organizers with Universe's marketing experts to access the world's largest event and fan database and optimize digital marketing campaigns. It complements the ticketing platform by enabling targeted fan acquisition and retention campaigns leveraging Ticketmaster's data scale.
Companies that use Universe
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Universe technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
Feature5 records
Universe partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.
- TicketmasterflagshipUniverse is a brand under Live Nation Entertainment (Ticketmaster's parent company). Events on Universe can be listed on Ticketmaster's marketplace, providing access to 100M+ monthly visitors, 25 country presence, and the world's largest event marketplace. This partnership enables event organizers to maintain brand control while accessing Ticketmaster's global distribution infrastructure.
- ZapiercoreUniverse offers 5000+ partner integrations through Zapier, enabling event organizers to connect their ticketing platform with various third-party tools for marketing, analytics, CRM, and workflow automation.
- Live Nation EntertainmentflagshipUniverse operates as part of Live Nation Entertainment's ticketing ecosystem, leveraging 40+ years of global ticketing expertise. Within the Live Nation Entertainment Group, services are shared including marketing, profiling, reporting, and technical and product support.
- Distribution Partners (1000+)coreUniverse provides access to a best-in-class distribution network that surfaces events to incremental audiences in priority markets on the world's biggest platforms, including Ticketmaster and other major ticketing marketplaces.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Universe competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- SeatGeek: SeatGeek is a ticketing marketplace and platform serving professional sports teams, venues, and live entertainment. It is comparable to Universe as a direct competitor in the ticketing platform market with overlapping enterprise and consumer ticketing capabilities.
- AXS: AXS is a ticketing platform owned by AEG serving major venues, sports teams, and concerts. It is comparable to Universe as a competitor in event ticketing systems, with overlapping enterprise and venue-focused offerings.
- Eventbrite: Eventbrite is a leading self-serve ticketing platform for events of all sizes. It is directly comparable to Universe as both serve event organizers with marketplace listings, ticketing infrastructure, and discovery features, and both are routinely cited together in ticketing market research.
Others
- Bizzabo: Bizzabo is an event experience and registration platform for B2B conferences and events. It is comparable to Universe as an event technology platform serving organizers, though Bizzabo focuses on enterprise conferences rather than consumer live events.
Emerging players
- Dice: Dice is a ticketing and event discovery platform focused on live music and nightlife. It is comparable to Universe as a younger ticketing competitor targeting similar consumer audiences, though Dice specializes more in electronic and live music events.
- Shotgun: Shotgun is a ticketing and event discovery platform for electronic music events. It is comparable to Universe as an emerging ticketing peer with similar GA/timed-entry use cases, though concentrated in the electronic music vertical.
- Tixel: Tixel is a safe ticket resale marketplace focused on live events. It is comparable to Universe as an adjacent ticketing platform serving event organizers and attendees, though Tixel specializes in fan-to-fan resale rather than primary ticketing.
- Humanitix: Humanitix is a ticketing platform that directs booking fees to charity. It is comparable to Universe as an event ticketing alternative targeting event organizers, though Humanitix differentiates on social impact rather than distribution scale.
Broad incumbents
- StubHub: StubHub is a major ticketing marketplace owned by Viagogo. It is comparable to Universe as a competitor in event ticketing and is explicitly cited alongside Universe in market research, though StubHub focuses more on resale/secondary ticketing.
- Ticketmaster: Ticketmaster is the world's largest ticketing marketplace and is Universe's sibling brand under Live Nation Entertainment. It is comparable as the primary distribution channel for Universe events and a direct competitor in the broader ticketing space, though Ticketmaster dominates seated/assigned-seat events.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Universe social profiles
Digital presenceUniverse financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Universe leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Universe funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Universe M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Universe
What does Universe do?
Universe is an open event ticketing marketplace that lets event organizers create, manage, and sell tickets for general admission and timed-entry events through its own platform, on Ticketmaster's global marketplace, and via 1,000+ distribution partners. Organizers can embed ticketing on their own websites with a single snippet of code while retaining ownership of customer data, customize checkout, and access analytics, fan data marketing, and multi-country support backed by Live Nation Entertainment.
Is Universe a public or private company?
Universe is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Universe founded?
Universe was founded in 2011. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Universe based?
Universe is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Universe make money?
One revenue line is on record: ticket Sales Commission.
Who are Universe's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are SeatGeek, AXS and Eventbrite. Bizzabo is listed as an others. Emerging players are Dice, Shotgun, Tixel and Humanitix. Broad incumbents are StubHub and Ticketmaster.
Does Universe have an API?
Yes. Universe provides an open API that enables users to automate tasks and integrate tools. The platform offers 5,000+ partner integrations available through Zapier. Developers can access the API via https://developers.universe.com/. Developer documentation is at developers.universe.com.
What industry is Universe in?
Universe's product category is Event Ticketing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAGAJAL, Event Discovery, Listings & Calendar Platforms, with a secondary code of MPAGAJAG, Access Control, Credentialing & Entry Management (Scan/Turnstiles/RFID). Its NAICS code is 711320 and its SIC code is 7900.