Eventful

About Eventful

Eventful, initially launched as EVDB, Inc. in 2004, was an online calendar and events discovery service. The company was founded in La Jolla, California, by Brian Dear, a technology veteran with a background at eBay, MP3.com, and Eazel. Dear's career has been centered on building applications for online communities, a focus that shaped Eventful's core mission.

The platform served as a comprehensive search engine for events, allowing users to find local happenings such as concerts, festivals, and film presentations by searching by time, location, and performer. A key feature was its "Demand" service, which empowered users to campaign for artists or events to come to their city. This tool provided valuable data for event organizers and promoters to gauge public interest. One of its most notable successes was its use in the grassroots promotion of the film "Paranormal Activity" in 2009, where audience demand dictated the movie's screening locations. For its users, the platform offered personalized recommendations and the ability to create and share event calendars. The business model included advertising and offering an API for third-party developers to integrate Eventful's data into other applications.

Over the years, Eventful achieved significant user growth, reaching over 20 million registered users by 2012. The company secured approximately $19.6 million in funding through several rounds, attracting investors like Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) and Telefónica. In July 2014, CBS Corporation acquired Eventful through its Local Media division, aligning the service with its radio station group and local event strategies. Subsequently, Eventful was spun off with CBS Radio in its merger with Entercom, which later rebranded as Audacy, Inc. By February 2021, the Eventful website was replaced by a link to Audacy's site, which incorporated a more limited event-listing feature. Eventful's API service was terminated in late 2020. In January 2024, Eventful's parent company, Audacy, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.