Brown Paper Tickets

What Brown Paper Tickets does

Brown Paper Tickets is an online event ticketing and registration platform founded in 2000 that enables organizers to create events, sell tickets, and manage attendee registration for live, online, and hybrid events. Functionally it is a self-serve PLG product: organizers independently configure event details, location, dates, pricing, seating, and delivery options through an event creation wizard, while ticket buyers transact directly on the website or mobile site (m.bpt.me). The platform supports 21-22 currencies with localized service fee structures, integrates with five payment gateways (Authorize.net, PayFlow, PayPros, USAePay, PayPal) in addition to a built-in credit card processor, and adds free event/delivery modes alongside paid options. The product surface also includes assigned seating, discount codes, last-minute discount automation, attendee questionnaires, sales/attendee reporting, and tracking integrations with Google Analytics and Meta Pixel.

The business model is transaction-based: Brown Paper Tickets charges the ticket buyer a service fee of $1.49 plus 6% of the ticket price (USD) and similar structures in other currencies, while organizers incur no listing fees; the optional Service Fee Rebate allows organizers using their own merchant accounts to retain a portion of the buyer-paid fee. The customer base is horizontal and long-tail, spanning concerts, comedy, theater, sports, film, classes, workshops, fundraisers, festivals, and free or donation-based events. Operational geographies include the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and broader Europe, with a UK subsidiary (Brown Paper Tickets LTD) in Edinburgh supporting EEA compliance.

The company is the trade name for EDC Acquisition Corporation, a California corporation that, together with Brown Paper Tickets LTD, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Events.com. Brown Paper Tickets maintains PCI-DSS v3.2 Level 1 certification, GDPR compliance for EEA users, and a CCPA-specific Privacy Notice. As of the most recent data, the standalone brownpapertickets.com website is being retired with users directed to migrate to Events.com, indicating active consolidation of the product into the parent platform.

Name

Brown Paper Tickets

Legal name

EDC Acquisition Corporation

Website

https://brownpapertickets.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Brown Paper Tickets is an online event ticketing platform enabling organizers to create, manage, and sell tickets for live, online, and hybrid events globally, charging service fees to ticket buyers rather than organizers and operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of Events.com.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities (711320)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Primary Ticketing Platforms & Box Office Systems (MPAGAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Ticketing, Registration & Event Technology (Badging, Apps) (BPAFAGAL), Event Marketing, Ticketing & Registration Management (HSACAAAM), Ticketing Platforms (Paid Events, Seat Maps, Access Control) (THAHAFAC)

Keywords

• Event ticketing platform
• Online ticket sales
• Event registration software
• Ticket payment processing
• Box office services

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Ticket Buyer Service Fees: Brown Paper Tickets charges ticket buyers a service fee per ticket sold. For USD transactions, this is $1.49 fixed plus 6% of the ticket price. Other currencies have their own fixed + percentage fees (e.g., CA$1.99 + 6%, £0.99 + 6%, €0.99 + 6%). These fees are paid by buyers, not event organizers. Free events and donations do not incur service fees.
2. Delivery Fees: Most delivery methods are free (Print-at-Home, Mobile Tickets, Will-Call, 1st Class Mail, UK Royal Mail). Some premium delivery options carry additional charges such as Priority Mail ($9.70-$64.00 depending on location) and Express Mail ($27.85-$59.00).
3. Additional Services: Additional fees apply for pre-printed physical tickets ($0.10 each + delivery), physical tickets for free events ($1.49 each), cancelled events ($1.49 per ticket), and seating chart changes after tickets have been sold ($30.00 + $1.49 per ticket).
4. Affiliate Payments: Affiliates earn $0.10 per will-call or print-at-home ticket sold through their referral links.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Brown Paper Tickets provides an online event ticketing and registration platform that enables event organizers to create, manage, and sell tickets for in-person, online, and hybrid events at no listing cost. The platform integrates multiple payment processors, supports 22 currencies and multiple ticket delivery methods (print-at-home, mobile, will-call, mail), and monetizes via buyer-paid service fees per ticket.

Product overview

Brown Paper Tickets is a fair-trade event ticketing and registration platform that enables event organizers to create, manage, and sell tickets for in-person, online, and hybrid events. The core platform provides comprehensive event creation tools including event details management, location setup, date and pricing configuration, and payment processing. The platform integrates multiple payment processors (Authorize.net, PayFlow, PayPros, USAePay, PayPal) alongside its own built-in credit card processing service. Event organizers can utilize various ticket delivery methods (print-at-home, mobile, will-call, mail), seating chart creation, discount codes, and last-minute discount automation. The platform supports 21 currencies and includes event discovery/browse functionality for attendees. Additional features include attendee questionnaires, analytics and reporting tools, social media integration, Google Analytics and Meta Pixel tracking, and a free promotional support service. The platform also offers a Developer account type with API access for building applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration13 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Events.com (Parent Company)coreOthersEvents.com is the parent company of EDC Acquisition Corporation dba Brown Paper Tickets. The Brown Paper Tickets website is being retired with users redirected to events.com/bpt/. The privacy policy and legal documentation identify this parent-subsidiary relationship.
• Authorize.netcoreTechnology or IntegrationThird-party credit card payment gateway integration allowing event organizers to use their own merchant accounts for processing ticket sales.
• PayPalcoreTechnology or IntegrationPayPal integration allows event organizers to collect payments directly to their PayPal accounts. Ticket buyers can pay via PayPal. PayPal automatically remits service fees back to Brown Paper Tickets.
• PayFlow (PayPal)coreTechnology or IntegrationThird-party credit card payment gateway integration supporting event organizers' own merchant account processing.
• USAePaycoreTechnology or IntegrationThird-party credit card payment gateway integration supporting event organizers' own merchant account processing.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• TryBooking: TryBooking is a self-serve ticketing platform serving community events, schools, and SMB organizers across multiple countries. Comparable to BPT in low-cost organizer pricing, free events support, and international reach.
• Universe (by Ticketmaster): Universe was a self-serve primary ticketing platform for independent event organizers acquired by Ticketmaster. It is closely comparable to BPT in target customer (SMB/independent organizers), PLG model, and feature set.
• Eventbrite: Eventbrite is a direct self-serve ticketing platform for SMB event organizers with a similar PLG motion, buyer-pays or organizer-pays fee structure, and global multi-currency reach. BPT is most often benchmarked against Eventbrite in independent-organizer segments.
• TicketWeb: TicketWeb is Live Nation's self-serve ticketing platform aimed at independent venues and promoters. It directly mirrors BPT's SMB/independent-organizer positioning with PLG onboarding and digital ticketing.

Others

• Events.com: Events.com is the parent company of BPT and an event management platform of its own. It is a relevant adjacent/integrated peer given the ongoing migration of BPT users onto the Events.com platform.

Broad incumbents

• AXS (AEG): AXS is a primary ticketing platform owned by AEG, focused on mid-to-large venues and sports. It overlaps with BPT in offering multi-currency, assigned seating, and digital ticketing, but targets higher-tier events.
• Ticketmaster (Live Nation Entertainment): Ticketmaster is the dominant primary ticketing incumbent for large venues and major tours. While BPT serves a different SMB/independent-organizer niche, both operate primary ticketing platforms with similar core functionality (seating, payment processing, multi-channel delivery).
• SeatGeek: SeatGeek operates both a primary ticketing platform for venues and a secondary marketplace. Comparable to BPT in primary-ticketing infrastructure and analytics capabilities, though SeatGeek competes at a larger venue tier and has stronger sports and mobile app positioning.
• Eventim: Eventim is a major European primary ticketing and live entertainment platform, overlapping with BPT's European footprint and multi-currency capabilities. It is a relevant incumbent peer given BPT's UK subsidiary and EU operations.

Emerging players

• Eventbrite Universe / Pretix / Tito: tito is a self-serve ticketing platform targeting independent and SMB event organizers with a transparent pricing model. Comparable to BPT in target segment and feature set, though smaller in scale and geographic footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/info
• Xx.com/BPTickets
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/brown-paper-tickets

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Brown Paper Tickets