Mythbusting Dynamic Pricing: It’s Complicated and Time Consuming for Organizers and Ticket Buyers.

October 24, 2024
Arts organizations are working under very difficult circumstances. The Centre for Cultural Value’s Culture in Crisis report illustrates how the UK’s cultural sector is “facing imminent burnout alongside significant skills and workforce gaps.” These gaps are leaving a workforce that is not representative of our society, and also exhausted teams who are not equipped for everything being thrown at them. There is simply not enough human resource to execute everything and so teams need smarter tools and processes that can help them. It’s absolutely natural to have a knee-jerk reaction to implementing anything new when you’re burned out and simply battling to put out fires every day. But taking a moment to implement time and cost-saving tools can help to fight those fires at their source so that there are fewer to deal with each day.

“I’m too busy to implement a complex new pricing tool”

With modern software and data analytics tools, dynamic pricing is accessible to any team, however busy, thanks to automation. DynamO developed a very straightforward and easy-to-use interface and provides free support and assistance. Setting up the dynamic pricing parameters for a typical theatre performance (3-5 different ticket categories) takes 2-5 minutes for our clients. Even very small theatres and music groups with only 1 person managing ticketing are achieving great results using DynamO.

We have lots of one-night shows and we don’t have autonomy on price-setting (we have to set prices in line with promoters / producers), so dynamic pricing can’t work for us”

Dynamic pricing can be applied to a wide range of events, including one-time performances, festivals, sports events, and more. Predicting the success of a one-time event can be very tricky as success depends on multiple variables: big names, promotion partners etc. However, dynamic pricing actually helps to mitigate the risk associated with one-off shows or short runs. Over time it becomes a highly effective tool to support performance lifecycle evaluation and decision-making.

When first implementing dynamic pricing you can talk to your partners about whether they want to do it or not, and if not you don’t have to dynamically price their shows. Once you have dynamically priced a few shows you can show them the data to evidence the potential ROI they are missing out on and they will likely choose to participate, as we’ve seen with numerous clients in this position.

“If the prices are always changing how can I forecast accurately?”

Forecasting is always an educated guess about the future. With dynamic pricing, forecasting is actually more reliable than with fixed / static pricing, because it reacts to market fluctuations and generates additional yield on popular shows while boosting audiences at less popular performances / events. Ticketing managers can predict based on their past experience as they usually would. The only change they need to make is that they should expect better results both in revenue and tickets sold than ever before. A typical DynamO client generates 14-17% average revenue growth while reducing unsold inventory by over 20%.

“We often have to paper / discount heavily at the last minute to fill a show, dynamic pricing will only exacerbate this late booking behavior - we want to encourage early bookers!”

Dynamic pricing can help encourage early booking and aid in avoiding last minute discounts to fill an event. In many cases prices increase as the event date approaches and availability decreases. There are many logics that can be applied in dynamic pricing and it’s never guaranteed that tickets will be cheapest at the beginning of the sales period, or at the end of it, or anytime in between! While it can provide a kind of gamification opportunity to ticket buyers, there is not a simple and consistent rule that they can follow. With dynamic pricing they can’t just wait and be guaranteed a cheap ticket.

“As a not-for-profit organization, I don’t think it’s a good fit - dynamic pricing is designed for profit-making companies.”

All kinds of cultural institutions can benefit from dynamic pricing. Optimizing ticket sales allows you to break down cost barriers across your programming and reach a wider audience, while ensuring financial sustainability. Dynamic pricing strengthens any mission-focused organization’s pricing strategy. It can result in wider availability of cheaper tickets and longer periods of availability for high-demand performances. Organizations such as the Hungarian State Opera, Operetta Theatre, and Palace of Arts have demonstrated how beneficial this approach can be. With the additional revenue generated, these institutions can further improve service quality and invest more in their artists, creating a positive social impact.


“Ticket buyers don’t want another layer confusing them - it’ll stop them from completing their purchase”

  • While dynamic pricing does introduce a variable, it doesn't need to complicate the process or slow down purchasing. Some people check the prices more than once before deciding on whether to buy the ticket or not, but the process itself is the same.
  • At DynamO re-pricing frequency can be set by the ticket inventory holder (organizer’s / venue’s ticketing team) and can vary between approximately 15 minutes up to days. More frequent price updates result in smaller changes in prices which means that most individual customers don’t notice, or the difference for them is negligible. Tickets that are already in the cart don’t change price even if there is a price update in the meantime for the rest of the tickets. Until the checkout process has finished (either  through a completed purchase or cart abandonment) the price of tickets in the basket will remain the same.
  • Dynamic pricing is a useful tool as part of your wider pricing strategy to attract and retain audiences, it can complement your existing membership programs, discounts / offers, and multiple ticket categories.
  • Dynamic pricing makes it easier for your audiences to get the best tickets, at the best price by purchasing directly with you. Dynamic pricing disincentivizes scalping and bots by lowering the second-hand sellers’ profit. If they buy a lot of tickets with an automated bot, they pump up the price for themselves as usually there is a limitation of how many tickets can be purchased at the same time.
  • Implementing dynamic pricing is a great opportunity to communicate with your audiences and help them understand why this is beneficial to them. You can help them understand how it will work and how they can get the best prices and availability according to the models that you have set up. This may be about booking early, or letting them know that they will no longer have to rush to get seats at the blockbuster show. DynamO can provide guidance and support on this.
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Understanding demand with TRG Arts
August 26, 2025

DynamO is proud to partner with  TRG Arts to help cultural organisations build stronger, more sustainable futures. While DynamO provides the tools for agile, real-time pricing decisions, TRG Arts brings decades of expertise in strategy and demand management. Together, we combine long-term structure with day-to-day responsiveness, ensuring every performance works harder for both mission and revenue.

In this post, Peter Ling - Communications Executive at TRG Arts - shares practical insights into how demand management works, and how it can transform audience behaviour, ticket yield and organisational resilience.

Understanding demand

At, we believe that an organisation’s mission and revenue are inseparable: growing one strengthens the other. To achieve that, you need more than hope that audiences will turn up. You need to actively manage and build demand.

That means using data to decide in advance how many seats to make available at each price, when to release them, and how to signal value so people feel urgency to book early. It’s about managing perception as much as product, and every campaign is a catalyst for behaviour change; when audiences believe something is in demand, they behave differently. By effectively managing this demand, our clients strengthen their earned income and attendance.

What is demand?

In TRG Arts’ work, demand is the level of audience interest in a specific performance, series, or event; and the opportunity to shape that interest. Through data, it’s seen in how quickly tickets sell, which seats go first, and how much audiences are willing to pay. But demand isn’t fixed. With the right strategy, you can influence when people buy, how much they spend, and how full it feels when sat in their seats.

Why is demand important?

Demand sits at the heart of your organisation’s success. High demand can optimise ticket yield (your average ticket price) and help you make the most of limited seating capacity. Managing demand effectively allows you to:

  • Grow revenue without increasing costs by maximising high-demand opportunities.
  • Protect accessibility by ensuring there are price points for a wide range of audiences.
  • Build momentum and urgency that encourages earlier booking and repeat attendance.

When your mission and revenue work together, every ticket sale fuels both your artistic and community goals.

How does ‘demand management’ work?
Demand management is the process of strategically shaping audience behaviour before and during a sales cycle.

At TRG Arts, this means using data for:

  • Setting your seat mix intentionally: deciding in advance how many seats to sell at each price; all based on historical sales.
  • Holding and releasing inventory strategically to create urgency and control scarcity and the ‘perception of success’.
  • Signalling value early so audiences act quickly.
  • Increasing ticket yield / average ticket prices as demand grows, while protecting accessible entry points throughout a sales cycle.

Done well, demand management gives you a strong foundation. DynamO adds valuable real-time responsiveness through its tools, allowing you to fine-tune prices as audience behaviour unfolds; combining long-term planning with in-the-moment action.

DynamO announces West End debut with The Mousetrap
August 19, 2025

We’re thrilled to announce a milestone collaboration between DynamO and The Mousetrap - a genre-defining, historic institution and our first-ever West End client. 

The partnership marks a significant step in our mission to bring cutting edge pricing technologies to the UK theatre industry, empowering iconic venues to increase revenue and attendance through dynamic pricing.

A new era for the world’s longest running play

The Mousetrap has been captivating West End audiences since 1952. Now, they’re embarking on a new pricing strategy, harnessing DynamO’s world-class pricing software to optimise ticket sales. 

Seamless Spektrix integration 

We’ve integrated Dynamo with The Mousetrap’s ticketing system, Spektrix, enabling automated dynamic pricing across their various performances, price bands and ticket types. With a sliding scale from full automation through to manual pricing approval, DynamO’s dashboard offers The Mousetrap’s box office team the opportunity to refine allocation of internal resources - all while boosting revenue.

Proactive price management

Our pricing configuration and real-time reports enable The Mousetrap to respond both quickly and strategically to audience behaviour and booking patterns, without compromising website user experience.

Audience-centred innovation

DynamO’s software has been fine-tuned to support The Mousetrap’s preexisting concession policies and loyalty programmes, such as group booking discounts - with lower and upper price limits maintaining fair and predictable pricing.

Interested in exploring dynamic pricing?

If you’re interested in finding out how a partnership with DynamO could help your organisation increase revenue and fill empty seats, get in touch using our contact form or email info@dynamopricing.com. We’d love to hear from you.

DynamO announces regional partnership with Watermill Theatre
July 9, 2025

We’re pleased to announce a new partnership between Watermill Theatre and DynamO Pricing. Based in Bagnor, Watermill is a regional producing theatre with a strong track record of attracting a wide audience. 

The Watermill team - led by Marketing Director Emma Bright - is excited to harness DynamO’s cutting-edge pricing technology to build on this success, and continue to maximise revenue and attendance.

Increased efficiency and impact

After experimenting with manual dynamic pricing and making frequent updates to ticket prices, the Watermill team were ready to explore an automated solution to streamline internal processes, free up marketing team resources and drive an uplift in revenue. 

Improved reporting

Through our conversations with Watermill and the specific requests they had for data they’d like to see in their monthly reports, we were able to update our standard reporting and roll this out across all of our clients. We’re thrilled to be able to respond to client demand and continually improve our offering. 

Great shows that audiences love

Watermill Theatre are vocal about prioritising audiences when it comes to programming and their approach to accessibility. They offer a wide range of concessions, relaxed and BSL-integrated performances, along with discounted tickets for young people and schools. DynamO’s technology supports this work by enabling responsive yet responsible pricing that protects inclusivity schemes and encourages transparency. 

Ready to explore dynamic pricing?

If you’re interested in learning how a partnership with DynamO Pricing could help your organisation increase revenue while remaining audience-focused and inclusive, reach out via our contact form or email info@dynamopricing.com. We’d love to hear from you.

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