Chat and digital distribution platform Discord has announced it is starting to test paid tickets for live audio events.
The platform, which started as a place for gamers, but has grown rapidly during the pandemic in other markets, will roll out ticketed events this month, marking the first time that creators can monetise the site.
The ticketing pilot will include fewer than 50 creators on an invitation-only basis in the US. The company has not detailed whether it will take a cut of the fees.
The announcement comes after Discord recently launched its Stage Channels feature to give larger communities an easy way to host panels, comedy nights, or any kind of live audio event.
Following on from this, the platform said in a blog post that it plans to launch a Stage Discovery feature on June 1 to help users find different new voice events.
Discord’s voice, video and text chat app saw its user base double in 2020 as those in lockdowns turned to the platform to connect virtually.
The app has more than 150 million users each month and brought in more than $100m in revenue last year.
The firm’s foray into ticketing follows a similar move from Twitter, which recently unveiled plans to allow creators on its audio-only platform Spaces to sell tickets to attendees joining rooms on the platform. The social media giant announced the new feature, called Ticketed Spaces, earlier this month in what would also be its first monetisation move for the platform.
Both firms are following on from audio-only app Clubhouse, which also became a huge hit during the pandemic and added a payments feature last month.
Image: Gage Skidmore/CC BY-SA 2.0/Edited for size
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