How Hedon and CM.com are shaping the future of Live Music together
No visitor ever sees what happens behind the scenes at a live music venue. They see a sold-out show. A seamless ticket purchase. A notification when their favourite artist returns. Or a ticket safely resold through the official resale platform.
Behind every one of those moments is an organization constantly looking for new ways to improve the visitor experience. For Hedon, that meant more than investing in new technology. It meant finding a partner that shared the same ambition: to keep improving, better understand its visitors, and use technology to strengthen the relationship between venue, artist, and fan.
That partner was CM.com.
For decades, Hedon has been a cornerstone of the Dutch live music scene. Every year, the Zwolle venue welcomes more than 100,000 visitors to concerts, club nights, and festivals. But Hedon has always seen itself as more than a concert venue.
Supporting talent has long been part of its DNA. From emerging artists taking their first steps to established acts performing to sold-out crowds, Hedon aims to be a place where musicians can grow.
We want to be the breeding ground for the Dutch music industry. That's ambitious, but we genuinely see it as our responsibility.
Senior Marketing Communications Specialist, Hedon
That ambition requires more than a strong programme. Behind the scenes, Hedon is equally committed to continuously improving the way it works. Not because technology is the goal, but because it helps create more personal visitor experiences, better support artists, and build an organisation that's ready for whatever comes next. That's exactly where Hedon and CM.com found common ground.
When Hedon started searching for a new technology partner, the conversation quickly became about much more than ticketing.
Over the years, the organisation had built a landscape of disconnected solutions for ticket sales, email marketing, SMS communication, and visitor data. Individually, each system did its job. Together, they failed to provide a complete picture of the visitor. The data was there, but it was fragmented. Processes were manual. Valuable insights remained difficult to uncover.
"We were selling tickets, but we didn't always understand why something worked. We had plenty of data, but no clear way to use it intelligently." - Henk Kanning, Senior Marketing Communications Specialist, Hedon
The question was no longer Which ticketing system should we choose? Instead, it became: How do we build a digital foundation that allows us to keep growing over the next decade? That also changed CM.com's role; from software vendor to long-term strategic partner.
Rather than replacing everything at once, Hedon and CM.com chose a phased approach. They started with ticketing, followed by marketing tooling, support tooling and Resale. Each step laid the foundation for the next, gradually connecting every visitor interaction into a single platform.
"The first major win was bringing everything together in one system. From there, we could gradually build a more data-conscious marketing approach."- Daniël Lugtmeier, Marketing Coordinator, Hedon
By bringing ticketing, communication, and visitor data together, Hedon created one connected platform that continues to support its growth today.
The transition from a fragmented technology landscape to a single platform delivered immediate results. After consolidating data sources and thoroughly cleaning its database, Hedon doubled the number of reachable visitor profiles. For an organisation welcoming more than 100,000 visitors every year, that created a much stronger foundation for personalised communication, meaningful fan engagement, and long-term visitor relationships.
The impact reaches far beyond marketing. Programming, customer service, and other teams now work from the same visitor insights, allowing better-informed decisions across the entire organisation.
For Hedon, the real value of the partnership doesn't lie in the implementation itself. If anything, that's where the real journey begins.
Technology continues to evolve. Visitor expectations change. New ways of communicating emerge, while AI and automation are reshaping how organisations engage with their audiences. Keeping up with that pace isn't something a venue can, or should, do alone.
CM.com is much more than a software supplier for us. They're truly an innovation partner. It's impossible for a venue to keep up with every technological development ourselves, so it's incredibly valuable to have a partner that actively thinks along with us.
Senior Marketing Communications Specialist, Hedon
That's why weekly check-ins, strategic sessions, and quarterly business reviews have become just as valuable as the technology itself. The conversations have shifted from How does this feature work? to bigger questions like:
How do we reach a new generation of visitors?
Which data helps us make better decisions?
Which innovations can further improve the visitor experience?
We learn a great deal from CM.com, but they learn from us too. That's what makes this a partnership where we continuously help each other move forward.
Senior Marketing Communications Specialist, Hedon
That shared mindset is also reflected in Hedon's official Resale platform. For Hedon, resale isn't simply about enabling ticket transfers. It's about maintaining ownership of the visitor relationship. Instead of directing visitors to external marketplaces, the entire ticket journey now stays within Hedon's own ecosystem.
"We've always put visitors first. For us, resale isn't a revenue model. We want ticket sales to remain fair, safe, and trustworthy." - Daniël Lugtmeier, Marketing Coordinator, Hedon
Keeping that journey in-house creates a better experience for visitors while also strengthening long-term engagement. When a show sells out, visitors no longer disappear from view. They can automatically be notified when tickets become available again or when their favourite artist returns to Hedon. Rather than ending at the point of purchase, the relationship continues beyond the event itself.
That philosophy runs throughout the entire partnership. For years, Hedon has been building a strong community of artists and visitors. Technology supports that mission - but never replaces it. "Our visitors and artists are our strongest ambassadors." - Henk Kanning, Senior Marketing Communications Specialist, Hedon
By combining richer visitor insights with more personal communication, Hedon is able to build stronger and longer-lasting relationships. Not every visitor shares the same interests, and not every fan should receive the same message. Understanding those differences is what makes meaningful engagement possible.
We don't aim to be 100% data-driven - we aim to be data-conscious. Data helps us make better decisions, while personal interaction always remains at the heart of everything we do.
Marketing Coordinator, Hedon
For Hedon, there is no finish line. Every improvement opens the door to the next opportunity. As visitor expectations evolve and new technologies emerge, the organisation continues to look ahead.
"Standing still isn't an option. We believe we have to stay ahead." - Henk Kanning, Senior Marketing Communications Specialist, Hedon
That mindset closely mirrors how CM.com approaches long-term partnerships. As AI, automation, and visitor expectations continue to evolve, so does the collaboration. Not because either organisation feels pressured to change, but because both share the ambition to keep improving every visitor experience.
For Hedon, working with a Dutch technology partner also plays an important role. By bringing ticketing, communication, and visitor data together with a single provider, the organisation benefits from short communication lines, local expertise, and the confidence that its data remains managed within Europe.
What began as a search for a future-proof digital foundation has grown into a long-term partnership built on shared ambition. Today, Hedon and CM.com work together on much more than ticketing, communication, or fan engagement. Together, they're continuously improving how visitors discover events, buy tickets, stay informed, and return for the next experience.
"Onboarding doesn't end once the software goes live. That's really where it begins. We continue to develop together, and that's what makes this partnership so valuable." - Henk Kanning, Senior Marketing Communications Specialist, Hedon
Because behind every sold-out show is far more than a ticket. It's the result of thousands of small interactions that shape the visitor experience - from the first campaign to the final encore.
By bringing ticketing, communication, visitor data, and fan engagement together on one connected platform, Hedon isn't simply preparing for what's next. Together with CM.com, it's building the future of live music; one visitor, one show, and one lasting relationship at a time.
Want to know how you can use the CM.com tooling for your event? Our dedicated team is ready to get in touch with you and discuss the possibilities.
Select a region to show relevant information. This may change the language.
