Lyte’s CEO Resigns Amid Staff Layoffs and Major Debts to Promoters
This news signals further trouble for the struggling US festival industry. The ticketing service Lyte has suddenly ceased operations, leaving its workforce and several event organizers in dire straits. Reports indicate that the company owes hundreds of thousands of dollars to those impacted.
Billboard has revealed that Ant Taylor, the CEO of Lyte, has stepped down, while remaining stakeholders are in a frenzy to establish an emergency board and seek urgent investment to resolve their financial obligations. Alongside the leadership upheaval, the company’s staff has faced layoffs, and the Lyte homepage now displays a message stating, “Our website is currently undergoing scheduled maintenance.”
Founded in 2014, Lyte has allegedly attracted $53 million in funding from investors, including prominent figures like hedge fund manager Joseph Edelman and venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya. The company’s client roster boasted major events like Lost Lands, Baha Beach Fest, and Pitchfork Music Festival.
So, what led to this downfall? According to The Ticketing Business, insiders claim that Lyte’s acquisition of Festicket was a misstep, as the management underestimated the financial burden of taking on the company’s debts. One individual described the transaction as “the stupidest deal ever done.” Another mentioned that Lyte’s performance declined significantly thereafter.
This situation reportedly thrust the company into a spiral of poor decisions in a desperate attempt to regain financial stability, including a shift in their business model that allowed promoters to scalp tickets, with Lyte taking a cut of the profits.
Currently, attorneys representing various clients of Lyte are racing against the clock to recover their funds from the platform before it seeks insolvency protection and goes into administration — should it choose to do so.
