Dice HQ

What we’re doing to make live shows more inclusive

Words by Dave Brooks

DICE’s Fan Support Manager for Europe, Dave Brooks, shares how we’re making the fan experience more inclusive

For the past four years, I’ve been lucky enough to work as part of DICE’s Fan Support team. Our goal is simple: we’re on a mission to get fans out more. Whether you need advice on upcoming shows, help logging into your account, or support on the day, our team is here to make sure you get the most out of live shows in your city.

If
DICE
can’t
provide
an
inclusive
experience
for
every
fan,
we’ll
never
achieve
our
goal
of
getting
people
out
more

Every day we speak with fans from around the globe – it’s a privileged position to be in. Each conversation brings a new perspective and an opportunity for us to get a better understanding of the changes fans want to see across the industry. So, when you ask us for help, we take it seriously. 

It’s our responsibility to advocate for those changes and work with teams across DICE to make sure our platform has a lasting impact on anyone who buys a ticket. If DICE can’t provide an inclusive experience for every fan, we’ll never achieve our goal of getting people out more. 

It’s appalling that there are still so many fans that are made to feel marginalised from participating in the live scene. Live music is inclusive by its very nature! Fans are drawn to artists who they feel represent them, whose lyrics and music capture their emotions and experiences, and who let them know they’re not alone.

It’s
our
responsibility
to
ensure
that
everyone
can
participate

Strangers from all walks of life meet in sweaty rooms to sing those songs together, share in those special moments and turn melancholy into euphoria. Friendships are made, spirits are lifted and perspectives are altered. It’s hugely powerful, and this happens across thousands of stages in thousands of venues every single day. 

So, as a team whose mission it is to help make this happen, it’s our responsibility to ensure that everyone – across all genders, races, backgrounds, sexual orientations and physical abilities – can participate in these moments. 

To do this, the Fan Support team has been working closely with the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) squad. While there’s never a dull moment working at DICE, these sessions are always the highlight of my week. Both teams are determined to help DICE grow into a more equitable platform, where all fans are recognised and supported in exploring their cultural interests. It was from these sessions that we identified three key areas to prioritise.

First up, we needed to build the Fan Support team in a way that better represents the fans we serve. We worked with the Talent and People team to coordinate unconscious bias training for hiring managers, broadened the talent pools we were targeting and reconfigured our hiring process to incorporate diverse interview panels. 

We’re growing fast and I’m proud that we’ve been able to attract a diverse, talented team. Fans come to us from all different walks of life for help, and it’s essential that we have a representative team who can rise to that challenge. We’ve made significant progress on this front, both in entry-level and leadership positions, and we’re stronger for it.

Secondly, we needed expert advice to help us support marginalised communities and provide a safer platform for all fans. When we say ‘safer platform’, we mean making the app and website more accessible, as well as ways that we can work with our partners to promote inclusion in venues. DICE has a zero-tolerance policy to harassment and we strive to do everything within our power to support victims of harassment and discrimination at shows – but reacting to situations isn’t good enough. We learnt that there are independent advisory campaigns out there that could help us proactively protect fans who are using our platform. 

Along with some of our key venue partners, we’ve continued our partnership with Good Night Out, and worked together to prevent, respond to and understand sexual harassment and assault at shows in DICE partner venues. We also met with Attitude is Everything, whose insights into the challenges faced by deaf, visually impaired and disabled fans helped shape how we advocate for changes to our platform going forwards. 

We
identified
areas
where
designers
and
developers
could
rethink
user
journeys
to
boost
accessibility

These learnings were crucial in helping us work towards our third target area: make DICE a more inclusive platform for fans. Working with the Product team, we identified areas where designers and developers could rethink user journeys to boost accessibility. We added subtitle functionality to streamed shows and expanded our login options to better facilitate visually impaired fans. More information was included on event pages to detail step-free access, wheelchair-friendly zones, and venue-specific information on +1 carer policies. We’ve also conducted site visits to partner venues so our team can help fans find a spot that meets their needs when they head to a show.

There’s so much more we want to achieve, and the truth is that until we live in a truly equal, equitable and inclusive society, the work will never be done. But every few months, when we set our quarterly goals, that end point remains our driving ambition. We’ll keep pushing for changes that help all fans live the cultural life they want to live, and we’re committed to sharing that progress here in this blog. If you ever want to talk in the meantime, you can hit us up at help@dice.fm. We’d love to hear from you.

We’re on a mission to get people out more

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