We all know how annoying it is when our favorite artist or comedian is coming to town and you can’t secure any tickets because they’re immediately sold out! And even worse, those who resell them charge ridiculously double and triple what they initially paid. Imagine if we can put an end to the black market of tickets. Today, this can be achieved through NFT ticketing!
Hear me out. The actual entertainer hosting the show is not aware of the uptick in ticket prices, and neither are they profiting or reaping any income from this demeaning exploitation of their true fans.
In this case, honest fans are not getting to see their idol at a show unless they pay an exorbitant amount of money.
Mind you, with that kind of cash they could’ve easily bought merch or whatever instead! Now that I have your attention, let’s dive right in!
How do we create a ticketing platform that is in favor of the true fans?
One word. Or three if you wanna be a party pooper.
NFTs.
How are Tickets & NFTs Alike?
Both are one-of-a-kind.
NFTs are a specific type of digital document that has properties that distinguish it from other digital formats: They can’t be copied or substituted.
Therefore, an NFT can only belong to one owner at any specific moment. And this is made possible by our good old blockchain. You can check out our ultimate blockchain guide right here!
But if you’re looking for a quick fix, you can think of it as a notebook in which a list is kept of which object currently belongs to whom and by whom it was transferred. Most importantly, an object aka NFT can NEVER belong to 2 people at once!
The same goes for your concert ticket. It includes details of the event, the ticket holder’s name, and their assigned seat. Not to mention each has a specific barcode number that IN AN IDEAL WORLD, can’t and must not be counterfeited.
Of course, that’s not always the case. Forging tickets is an industry in itself. The same way people forge IDs and passports illegally.
So, thus far, we have two problems with traditional ticketing systems:
- The exploitation of unassuming fans.
- Fake tickets and forgery.
In comes NFT ticketing to save the day.
How will this work?
Tickets will be available for mint on either a specific platform. And all the tickets you buy will sit in your wallet that is connected to that specific site.
Perk: You can check the mint price and exactly how much a person paid to get this ticket BEFORE you choose to buy it.
I admit that the possibility of technically limiting the resale price of a ticket employing smart contracts seems attractive.
But beware that this does not completely cancel the possibility of alternative payment methods.
For example, a reseller can always find buyers who are willing to pay an additional amount for an over-hyped event outside the blockchain.
Bonus Perk: Using NFT royalties and the magic of smart contracts, all Artists can make a percentage of profit from the resold tickets. Super Greedy resellers be damned.
Or the smart contract could prevent resale altogether. Whatever floats their boat.
Creating An NFT Ticket
- First of all, the event organizers must select the blockchain where they would like to tokenize their tickets.
- Second, they must program the smart ticket contract. In detail, the smart contract can define the rules for sale price, auction, resale, royalty fees, etc.
- The next step is to link an IPFS system to the ticketing system so that the users who purchase the tickets can get a digital file of the ticket. This can happen through a QR code that can help the event organizers verify the ticket’s authenticity.
Top NFT Ticketing Platforms
The following are three NFT ticketing platforms that you should definitely consider when organizing your next event especially if you aren’t tech-savvy!
SeatLabNFT
They have an upcoming NFT ticketing marketplace. Not to mention that SeatLabNFT launched a £1,000,000 Event Creator Fund to help event organizers and artists with live event costs.
GUTS Tickets
With over 600k tickets sold, GUTS offers digital smart tickets, fraud prevention, reselling, and ticketing for all markets including theatres, concerts, live streams, festivals, and more.
Yellowheart
Yellowheart is an NFT marketplace focused on providing ticketing solutions for the music and entertainment industry. They even collaborated with the iconic band Maroon 5.
Utility of NFT Ticketing
I have a fantastic prospect that I’ll gladly petition to happen.
Since the blockchain records information indefinitely…
Imagine that you’ve been buying tickets to see The Weeknd (For example) for the past 5 years. And you haven’t missed a concert during the past 5 tours he performed.
What if NFT ticketing allowed the artist to recognize and reward these die-hard fans?
The ability to airdrop ticket holders from past or future events can extend the live experience for fans. And it builds excitement before the show or afterward.
As a result, NFT ticketing can make fans feel closer to the performers and artists they love.
These rewards can include but are not limited to the following:
- Your favorite artist gives you whitelist access to buy tickets first.
- Invitations to private albums live-listening sessions.
- Limited edition merchandise.
- Air-dropping exclusive backstage passes.
- Recording a personalized video message for you.
Another way to utilize the power of the blockchain is NFT memberships as a new type of loyalty program for hard-core fans.
In this case, supporters can buy them, and brands or Performers can use them to tailor hyper-specific content that rewards certain tiers of the NFT membership cards.
You can check out our full NFT membership breakdown right here!
Using NFTs as membership cards is more flexible than traditional membership programs in the sense that fans can sell them to other users if they no longer wish to be a member
Honestly, the possibilities are endless with Web3.
Advantages of NFT Tickets
- Control over the secondary market.
- Track the journey of the ticket since the blockchain is traceable and transparent.
- Reward die-hard fans for their loyalty.
- Make the experience more immersive with engagement and airdrops.
The Inevitable Disadvantages
1- No customer service to aid you:
Losing your password or the private key will automatically make you lose access to your wallet. So, you now technically don’t own any NFT ticket. Cry me a river. No one can help you retrieve it.
Customer service usually resolves those issues with physical tickets. And most often than not, the ticketing provider can actually provide ways to save your ticket.
This is not the case with NFT ticketing. So, that’s one thing to watch out for.
2- The inflexibility of the blockchain:
If you record something on the blockchain, you can’t change it ever. So, storing private sensitive content is not ideal for NFT ticketing.
For example, during an event, the planners must collect the names of ticket holders for legal reasons. But they must also delete them after a certain period of time. That’s the norm with traditional tickets.
So, the whole point of blockchain is moot if the event organizer or ticketing provider must store this data elsewhere as well (Aka via a centralized storage method).
3- Data storage on the blockchain:
Compared to data storage in a database, blockchain transactions are much slower. Not to mention that they consume more energy.
So, a decentralized solution will never be better off in this respect than classic storage in a database.
4- Scams:
Since NFTs are digital assets. So, fraudsters and scammers can make fake NFT tickets and sell them to unaware customers. So, make sure to double and triple-check the authenticity of the NFT you intend to buy!
The Takeaway
Although the mainstream Web3 ecosystem is yet to adopt NFT ticketing, we can see hints of it splashed here and there. For example, users have been enjoying ‘Proof of Attendance Protocol’ or POAPs for years now!
However, despite the fact that some industries namely the music industry have undoubtedly started to accept the idea of NFTs, whether as tracks, collectibles, or festival passes, the vast majority of the world does not even own an NFT wallet.
As a result, this puts digital NFT tickets out of the equation for many organizers who are looking to target a broader audience.
Over the past few years, we’ve made major progress when it comes to the NFT/Web3 industry as a whole, but in actuality, we’ve only scratched the surface.
What do you think the future of NFT ticketing is?