LGBTIQ+ List 2024: Priscilla Nagashima, DICE

The LGBTIQ+ List 2024 – IQ Magazine’s fourth annual celebration of queer professionals who make an immense impact in the international live music business – has been revealed.

The ever-popular list is the centrepiece of IQ’s fourth Pride edition, sponsored by Ticketmaster, which is now available to read online and in print for subscribers.

To get to know this year’s queer pioneers a little better, we interviewed each of them on the development of the industry, the challenges that are keeping them up at night and more.

Throughout the next month, IQ will publish a new interview each day. Catch up on yesterday’s interview with Pembe Tokluhan (she/her), founder and CEO of Petok Productions.

The series continues with Priscilla Nagashima (she/her), VP of engineering at DICE.

Priscilla Nagashima brings over 18 years of expertise in product, engineering and AI/ML across music, marketing, ticketing, payments and mobility systems. As an advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights and diversity in STEM, she drives inclusive initiatives within her product and engineering team at DICE. She holds an MSc in Software Engineering from the University of Oxford and is recognised for her strategic tech leadership and extensive public speaking engagements at global events like TEDx.

Tell us about the professional feat you’re most PROUD of in 2024 so far.
It was so cool working behind the scenes with the team at DICE to see some massive events selling out so quickly and smoothly on our platform – Primavera Sound, Sónar and several Boiler Room shows to name a few.

What’s your most pressing challenge in the industry right now?
Competing with bots, touts and ticket scammers. DICE has always focused on how we fix ticketing for fans with features – like our Waiting List and mobile tickets locked to smartphones – that are hassle-free for fans but a nightmare for touts. It breaks my heart to see people selling through unofficial channels, sometimes to their detriment. With the evolution of AI and more sophisticated software, the fight must continue.

“I am proud that my engineering leadership team at DICE has a majority female representation, with most coming from diverse backgrounds too”

Tell us about some of the work you’ve done in DICE’s Pride 365 Employee Community Group.
I have proudly and actively championed LGBTQIA+ inclusivity at DICE as the executive sponsor of our Pride 365 ECG (Employee Community Group). The group focuses on LGBTQ+ issues, policies, events, product features and community-building, with incredible people promoting inclusivity within the company and beyond. My work with them has been on coaching, supporting initiatives and pushing for change, helping make company-wide policies or product features happen faster to benefit our community.

How do you ensure engineering leadership reflects a mix of gender identities, neurodiversity, and LGBTQIA+ representation?
I come from a diverse background, having been born and raised in Brazil to a half-Brazilian and half-Japanese family. Being a queer woman of colour in tech also means I have fought, throughout my career, to do whatever was necessary to bring more diversity to the table in whatever position or company I worked for. I am proud that my engineering leadership team at DICE has a majority female representation, with most coming from diverse backgrounds too – whether in terms of gender, race, sexual orientation or neurodiversity. But as much as I have championed it and made it a topic for our agendas, the truth is that this was only possible by working closely with other teams, pushing for diversity in our talent pool and putting provisions in place to guarantee inclusivity and fairness throughout the hiring process.

“We all agree that bringing more representation and different voices to the table is wonderful, but very few out there are walking the walk on that”

How do you see ticketing technology developing in the next few years?
With the cost of living crisis, people are becoming more picky about how they spend their disposable income. Going out is expensive so it’s a matter of finding the right things at the right price. This is where I think the commoditisation of AI will thrive and become more popular but only the companies that think of fans and have amazing user experiences will stand out.

Name one thing the industry could do to be a more equitable place.
Invest more actively in the education and employment of people in disadvantaged communities. Overall, we all agree that bringing more representation and different voices to the table is wonderful but very few out there are walking the walk on that.

Name one queer act you’re itching to see live this year.
Billie Eilish. Brownie points if Lana del Rey joins her on stage for a duet, just like at Coachella.

“Being a queer woman of colour in tech also means I have fought, throughout my career, to do whatever was necessary to bring more diversity to the table”

Shout out your biggest ally in the live music industry.
Corrie McLean, DICE’s head of artist development programmes. A legendary human being, an endless fountain of energy and the real queen of queers at DICE.

Shout out any LGBTIQ+ cause(s) you support.
Massive shout out to Goal Diggers FC, a non-profit women’s and non-binary football club in East London that makes football accessible regardless of ability. I have been part of the club for over a year and can say it’s such an inclusive, open and supportive community, embracing people from all backgrounds. The club has its regular night out event in Hackney called Murder On Zidane’s Floor (MOFZ) – you’ve gotta look it up!

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