On the third floor of The Tea Building in Shoreditch two very different species are living in perfect harmony. DICE HQ is where technology not only meets the music industry, it’s where they merge. Together, developers, designers, club promoters, music journalists, and artist managers have built a live music discovery and ticketing app, DICE, which gives fans access to the best gigs with absolutely no booking fees. Since launching in 2014, close to 1,000 artists have sold their tickets on DICE from big-name acts like Taylor Swift, Adele and Disclosure to the hottest emerging talent like SOPHIE, Little Simz and Dilly Dally. And the glue that ensures everyone can work together seamlessly? Marvel.
“As we’re growing, Marvel is helping the teams communicate about the features. It’s key.”
Before DICE started using Marvel, communication between the product team and the music team was inconsistent. While the music guys were on the road signing up artists and converting fans, the developers and designers were building the app. Feedback was minimal, assumptions were made, and everyone felt frustrated - it wasn’t how anyone wanted to be working. Even when they could brainstorm together, the outcome was uncertain. “At the ideation stage, even though you all agree and have explained the specs, everyone would leave with their own idea of what the feature will look like”, explained Mio, DICE's Chief Technology Officer.
As soon as the team started using Marvel a weight was lifted. Developers could share their work as they made it, and get feedback just as fast. Dropbox integration and offline capabilities meant that everyone could input whether they were at their desks or backstage at Wembley Stadium.
When it comes to ticket sales for blockbuster shows - Adele, Justin Bieber and others have all sold out in seconds on DICE - there’s absolutely no margin for error. The platform is deceptively lean, powered by features that are not only the first of their kind, but robust enough to handle incredible volume and velocity of users. Each show on the app is hand-picked by an editorial team with new acts added daily. Tickets are linked to the device they’re purchased on making them completely tout proof and 100% mobile. A unique “Waiting List” feature also means those who are no longer able to attend a gig can pass their tickets on to other fans. The team used Marvel to hone every feature before release.
"With Marvel we cut our development time by more than half for big features. When re-building and re-designing our entire purchase flow to add saved card details, Marvel was instrumental in helping streamline the process by more than a fortnight."
Happy fans are vital, but a happy team is important too. Mio visibly relaxes when talking about the difference Marvel has made to their internal processes and culture. “We’ve learnt that we all think differently. We meet each other halfway… What did we do before Marvel?”
Whether you're a team of 3 or 300, Marvel can help you all work better together. Check out our Teams plan here.
