{"id":25585,"date":"2013-11-21T16:15:34","date_gmt":"2013-11-21T14:15:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/2013\/11\/saving-arts-festivalgoers-time-and-artists-money\/"},"modified":"2013-11-21T16:15:34","modified_gmt":"2013-11-21T14:15:34","slug":"saving-arts-festivalgoers-time-and-artists-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/saving-arts-festivalgoers-time-and-artists-money\/","title":{"rendered":"Saving Arts Festivalgoers time and artists money"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A new ticketing system which powers the iconic Edinburgh Fringe is poised to change the way South Africans experience the arts from 2014, with the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown being the first to introduce its audiences to \u201cone of the world\u2019s most efficient, robust, versatile and secure systems\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Scottish event, the largest arts gathering in the world, sells over 2.5 million tickets each August. From next year, the same software that powers those sales will be used in Grahamstown, in terms of a new partnership announced today between the Festival and Edinburgh-based technology company Red61.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an amazing, world-class system, unlike anything we\u2019ve encountered,\u201d Festival CEO Tony Lankester said. \u201cThe software was custom-written specifically to simplify the experience of attending a Festival such as ours, which has many venues and hundreds of performances taking place in a concentrated period of time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The partnership will save festivalgoers valuable time and effort, while bringing a streamlined and simplified planning and booking experience to their desktops, smartphones and tablets without compromising on security, Lankester maintains. \u201cSecurity was our number one priority. We wanted to introduce a system which protected the private data of our customers and of artists. The next thing we looked for in a system was simplicity. Customers don\u2019t want to spend hours navigating a cumbersome site with archaic rules. This system will let our audiences plan their Festival visit online and then book quickly and securely using their phones or tablets, wherever they are,\u201d he said. \u201cWhile this technology itself isn\u2019t new, the way the customer experience is put front and centre of this softwa re is unlike anything on offer in the South African marketplace. It is easy, quick, safe, intuitive and is an absolute joy to use,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Only a couple of years since its introduction, the software has become the de facto standard for arts events around the world. \u201cWe sell tickets not just in Edinburgh, but also in Adelaide, Brighton, Perth and Abu Dhabi,\u201d Red61 Managing Director Tony Davey said. \u201cWhile it was designed and built for Edinburgh, it is scaleable so that it can handle one production or venue in one day as easily as it can a multi-venue environment like Edinburgh which has hundreds of performances on at any given moment throughout August,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Grahamstown is the first African festival to use the software, a fact that means a lot to Red61. \u201cOne of our early investors and our current Chairman, William Burdett-Coutts who runs the iconic Assembly venues in Edinburgh, performed at the inaugural National Arts Festival when he was a Rhodes student in 1974. The fact that we are introducing Via to Grahamstown 40 years later makes us proud,\u201d Davey said.<\/p>\n

Behind the scenes, the software will give organisers and artists performing at the Festival better access to instant sales figures, analysis and reports. \u201cWe\u2019ll be able to see at a glance which shows are selling well, which ones aren\u2019t, and we will be able to adjust our marketing on the fly to respond,\u201d Lankester said. \u201cImportantly, the pricing structure of the system is such that we will be able to drastically reduce the commissions and fees built in to every ticket, meaning more money goes into the pockets of the artists.\u201d While some of those savings will flow to artists in the first year, it is expected that the commissions will reduce even further in future years as the Festival\u2019s initial investment in hardware infrastructure is recouped.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe like the system so much we have decided to invest in the future of the company, and the National Arts Festival will license the software to festivals, theatres, sports events and concerts across the country through a new non-profit joint venture with Red61,\u201d Lankester said. The venture will be launched in South Africa once compliance testing is complete.<\/p>\n

Apart from licensing the software, the Festival will be commissioning South African developers to come up with innovations that add value to the system \u2013 planning tools and web functionality that can then be offered to Via users in other countries, showcasing South Africa\u2019s IT talent. \u201cWe are convinced that Via is the future of ticketing and will become the global standard \u2013 and we want everyone to experience it knowing full well that the system speaks for itself. It makes organisers, artists and audiences happy the moment they come into contact with it,\u201d Lankester said.<\/p>\n

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