We have used four ticketing platforms across 37+ events. Each one taught us something about conversion rates, data ownership, audience trust, and the hidden costs that eat into margins. Here is the honest breakdown of every platform we tested and why we ultimately decided to build our own.
Resident Advisor
RA was our first platform. It has the best built-in audience for electronic music — people actively browsing RA for events in their city represent a warm audience you do not have to create from scratch. Our Silo debut sold 122 tickets through RA for $749.70 in revenue.
The problems: the app had bugs that frustrated buyers, the platform controls the customer data, and the fees take a meaningful cut. When a buyer purchases through RA, that customer belongs to RA’s ecosystem, not yours. You cannot retarget them with your own ads. You cannot add them to your SMS list. You are renting access to your own audience.
Dice
Dice was used for specific events, including our Silo debut where 33 Dice tickets brought in $495. The platform has a clean buyer experience and strong brand recognition. Some venues require Dice or RA specifically in their contracts.
The same data ownership problem applies. You are building someone else’s customer base. And Dice’s discovery algorithm favors larger promoters, making it harder for underground events to surface organically on the platform.
Shotgun
We switched to Shotgun after RA’s app issues. Shotgun solved some UX problems but introduced others. The platform worked but never felt like a long-term home. It was the bridge between RA and finding something that gave us more control.
Posh
Posh became the primary platform under an exclusivity contract. The advantages that made it worth the commitment: integrated SMS blasts to their network, Meta pixel tracking on ticket pages, an affiliate promo system with 30% commission on ticket sales through personal links, and real-time earnings visibility for promoters.
The promoter model on Posh works well. Set the commission per ticket equal to the ticket price — for a $25 ticket, the promoter earns $25 per sale. Sell one ticket and your entry is covered. Keep selling and it is pure profit. The hybrid pitch hooks both casual promoters who want free entry and hustlers who want income.
Posh also provides SMS blast capabilities: a 7,000-person blast costs nothing if you have a Posh link. Paid blasts run $200 for 2,000 contacts or $450 for 5,000 branded contacts. This infrastructure alone makes Posh valuable as a distribution channel even if you are moving ticketing elsewhere.
The downside: the exclusivity contract means you cannot use other ticketing platforms simultaneously. Some venues asked that the Posh logo not appear on flyers. And fundamentally, Posh still owns the primary customer relationship.
WooCommerce (self-hosted)
The endgame. WooCommerce ticketing runs in parallel with Posh during the transition. The advantages: complete data ownership, AffiliateWP integration for DJ commission tracking, custom ticket page design, Meta pixel on your own domain, and no platform fees beyond payment processing.
The challenges: building buyer trust for a checkout on your own domain takes time. People trust Posh and RA checkouts. They do not automatically trust a WordPress site they have never purchased from. The transition has to be gradual — run both platforms simultaneously, let buyers choose, and slowly shift the default.
The evaluation framework
When evaluating any ticketing platform, these are the questions that actually matter:
Who owns the customer data after the sale? Can you export email addresses and purchase history? Does the platform support affiliate or commission links for your DJ compensation model? What are the real fees after processing, platform cuts, and payout timing? Can you integrate your own Meta pixel for ad retargeting? Does the platform support QR code scanning via mobile phone, not iPad? How fast do funds settle to your bank account?
The platform that scores highest on data ownership and lowest on fees wins long-term, even if it requires more setup work upfront.
Every platform switch taught us something. RA taught us that built-in audiences matter. Dice taught us that venue requirements dictate platform choice. Shotgun taught us that UX drives conversion. Posh taught us that SMS distribution and affiliate infrastructure are worth an exclusivity trade. And building our own taught us that data ownership is the only long-term competitive advantage in ticketing.