Beverly Hills-based LiveOne Inc., the owner of streaming services like Slacker Radio, LiveXLive and PodcastOne, is making a foray into the gaming business with a newly launched subsidiary called GamifyOne.
The new entity is the result of a partnership with Trader2B Software Solutions, the developer of a virtual stock trading game. Under the terms of the agreement, LiveOne will license Trader2B’s technology in service of a platform that allows users of the company’s subscription services to play games and interact with one another while competing for prizes and virtual goods that can be shared or exchanged with other subscribers.
The arrangement also gives LiveOne the option to purchase Trader2B, and Chief Executive Robert Ellin told the Business Journal LiveOne is moving forward with the acquisition though he did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.
Ellin said LiveOne’s new gaming platform is primarily a bid to give users new opportunities to interact with one another and to remain engaged with LiveOne’s streaming services for extended periods of time.
“We want to give our consumers reasons to stay on our platform longer and to participate longer,” said Ellin. “We want to be the first social music platform. The consumer is attending, listening, watching, engaging and transacting.”
He said the games offered through GamifyOne will often be directly connected to programming viewers and listeners are consuming — like a live music trivia game attached to a concert.
This customizable and interactive format is one reason GamifyOne will operate as an independent subsidiary of LiveOne, according to Ellin. The platform is flexible enough that it could potentially be incorporated into the broadcasts and streams of partner companies.
“It’s a super exciting engine for the company to keep our partners engaged,” Ellin said. “We can produce, distribute, market … but also, now we can bring that gamification.”
Ellin said it will be especially important to have new ways to keep partners and sponsors engaged as the live events industry faces renewed disruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic. LiveOne recently slightly scaled back its fiscal year revenue projections to account for uncertainty around the Omicron variant.
Still, Ellin said, as an online platform, LiveOne is somewhat insulated from the economic impacts of declining ticket sales and event cancellations — and new gamification offerings could reinforce that.
“I think we’ve proven we’re nimble, and we understand that live (events) drives our digital platform, but the world’s waking up to how big digital is for music,” he said.
