Universe

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.

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

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

• Event ticketing platform
• Online ticket sales
• Event management software
• Ticketing marketplace
• White-label ticketing

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. 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

Core 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.

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• TicketmasterflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniverse 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.
• ZapiercoreTechnology or IntegrationUniverse 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 EntertainmentflagshipTechnology or IntegrationUniverse 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+)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUniverse 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

Direct 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

• Xx.com/uniiverse
• Facebookfacebook.com/uniiverse
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/universe-com

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors1 record

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 Universe