NFT Tickets: Mass Adoption breakthrough

What is NFT Ticketing?

  • NFT Ticketing: tickets in the form of an NFT living on a blockchain that act as access passes for any live or virtual event.

  • Issuers/organizers can keep a more in-depth record of attendance numbers by utilizing the blockchain as a ledger while simultaneously interacting with ticket holders in a new and innovative way via NFTs.

  • NFT Ticks can act as storytelling or secret easter eggs

  • Issuers can send out notices, host surprise giveaways, create token-gated sites and services, and more simply by collating data associated with holders of a specific NFT ticket.

Similarly, NFT ticket holders don't simply receive a ticket to an event but an immutable and often interactive digital asset granting them entry into a show or festival. These tickets also give holders access to exclusive experiences, including fan clubs made up only of holders of similar NFT tickets. Considering the lack of exposure to NFTs and software wallets at the time, it is challenging to implement this thoroughly in events worldwide.

Imagine a parallel between PFP NFTs and NFT tickets. PFPs come in varying degrees of rarity; they act as member passes to a variety of communities, they communicate an NFT collector's special status, and they can accrue value over time. Yet, PFPs are explicitly geared towards crypto and NFT enthusiasts and often come with the caveat of their association with financial gain/loss and price speculation.

So imagine a PFP gives you access to their partner's VIP parties or events that one hasn't even heard of or RSVP. So many PFP collection is trying to create fun and utility for their NFT project.

NFT tickets, on the other hand, are a new extension of an existing and robust network of concerts, festivals, conferences, and other live events. Imagine tickets to a metaverse of in-person events, where offers abound: for example, a PFP-like perk to holders added to the existing experience involving a musician, music festival, nightclub, etc.

Coachella NFT that enables lifetime entry to all VIP events
Coachella NFT that enables lifetime entry to all VIP events

Who is using NFT ticketing?

Blockchain-powered events gained notoriety in 2021 and 2022, but NFT ticketing, while less familiar as a concept, has been around for years. And if we look at NFT history, the will to create tokenized experiences has persisted despite cases where the technology and know-how hadn't reached maturity.

In 2018, superstar producer/DJ and blockchain music pioneer 3LAU set out to help lay the groundwork for blockchain-powered events with his single-day concert, Our Music Festival. However, the festival itself didn't implement NFT ticketing for attendees — which likely would've been difficult anyways, considering the lack of exposure to NFTs and software wallets at the time. So 3LAU and Co. created a tokenized experience that allowed festival goers to accrue tokens that could be reimplemented for real-world purchases while at the event.

Startups

Originally, NFT ticketing began with startups. In 2020, NFTs hadn't achieved the popularity they inevitably did by the end of the following year. Yet developers were already delving into potential music industry use cases for the novel technology.

Early on, two primary value propositions were set forth for NFTs. The first was that they could potentially provide a more robust and verifiable form of identity to link with tickets, effectively reducing scalping and bot activity. Secondly, NFTs could create a direct channel for attendees to remarket and maintain community engagement after an event (as mentioned in the previous section).

Festivals

Coachella is potentially the most notable of these more localized efforts. With Coachella Collectible NFTs, AEG Worldwide presented a novel case for NFTs use cases as both memorabilia (aka POAP) and lifetime passes.

Although the Coachella collection received mixed reviews, it opened the door for others, like Las Vegas' Afterparty and Swedish music festival Way Out West, to launch their NFT tickets.

Las Vegas' Afterparty - NFT Art / Music in Match 2022
Las Vegas' Afterparty - NFT Art / Music in Match 2022

Problems that NFT ticketing solves

NFT Ticketing is on track to entirely disrupt the ticketing industry because it solves many problems that organizers currently face. For example, a paper-based ticket may be lost, ruined due to water, and destroyed. Moreover, organizers do not get enough security with paper-based tickets because they can be easily forged. QR codes solve this challenge for organizers, but they're not that effective for guests purchasing them.

Lost revenue from resale and scalping

The secondary ticket market is a hot mess. Resellers can dramatically increase prices, and scalpers buy up to 50% of tickets online to resell.

NFT Ticketing limits resale value, fees, and control over secondary ticket sales. With royalties from every sale, organizers would get a cut from the scalper sales. Organizers probably encourage scalpers to make more secondary sales. This will opens the doors to an additional $15 billion market for ticket sellers.

Lack of data on sales and exchanges

Event organizers face a massive lack of data and attribution when selling tickets, mainly when scalpers resell them.

NFT Ticketing allows all ticket transactions to be tracked on blockchain technology, making it much easier to identify when and where tickets are sold and who bought them. The issue is whether the NFT Ticket resold would need to be KYC.

Ticket fraud

One of the major concerns for guests is whether they have paid for an authentic ticket or a fake one. Sometimes, customers may be misled into buying counterfeit tickets on websites posing as legitimate authorized ticketing agents.

NFT Ticketing solves ticket fraud by having all transactions available on blockchain ledgers, making it impossible to sell fake tickets.

Ticket production

Physical and digital Ticketing requires production and digital ticket creation, which can often be a technological challenge. However, NFT Ticketing is much faster and more efficient than traditional or digital ticketing solutions.

Although NFT ticketing already faces problems with gas fees. Tickets are looking for a stable, fast, and cost-effective chain. New technology like the GET, polygon, and NEAR blockchains are solving these problems.

NFT Ticket Sharing

Some festivals and events last a few days. When an attendee can not make it to the entire event, that NFT ticket can be resold to the attendee's friends or even transferred for a better experience, adding more flexibility and transferability.

First Adidas POAP Entry into the NFT Space
First Adidas POAP Entry into the NFT Space

POAP - Proof of Attendance Protocol

Although NFT tickets have yet to bridge the gap over the "mainstream" NFT ecosystem, similar projects exist at the innovative intersection between live events and NFTs. One such service is the Proof of Attendance Protocol (POAP) — a protocol that creates digital badges or collectibles through blockchain technology.

Although NFT tickets have yet to bridge the gap over the "mainstream" NFT ecosystem, similar projects exist at the innovative intersection between live events and NFTs. One such service is the Proof of Attendance Protocol (POAP, pronounced "poh-ap") — a protocol that creates digital badges or collectibles through blockchain technology.

POAPs have been around for years, enabling event coordinators to reward enthusiasts for attending festivals, conferences, summits, and more. Associated primarily with blockchain-powered events like Devcon and other various Ethereum and Bitcoin events, POAPs took on a new life in 2021 as the NFT ecosystem ballooned.

POAPs quickly became a means to reward event attendees and Twitter Space participants, NFT drops Discord events, and much more. Furthermore, these POAPs started to gain utility as status symbols, incentivizing holders to trade them on OpenSea to receive perks down the line potentially.

Artists

Beyond large-scale efforts, independent musicians and artists are also finding ways to implement NFT ticketing into their tours and shows. NFTs are quickly becoming a primary music industry sector, with many artists launching NFT and blockchain endeavors to bolster their fanbases during COVID. Increasingly, NFT tickets seem an inevitable part of the burgeoning music NFT ecosystem.

While this type of system mirrors those used in major festivals, it exists on a much smaller and more personable level. Because of this, these drops are increasing in frequency and popularity, leading other artists like The Cool Kids, Steve Aoki, and more to offer free entry into their concerts for those who own their NFTs.

Future of NFT Ticketing

To date, numerous artists and developers have used POAPs to whitelist holders for subsequent drops, with Gmoney's Admit One collection becoming one of the most prominent. As POAPs gain more utility, they're even becoming a backward-compatible prerequisite for attendees of earlier events to acquire NFT tickets for future ones.

Although the music industry has undoubtedly begun to accept the idea of NFTs, whether as collectibles, a method of crowdfunding, or lifetime festival passes, the vast majority of music enthusiasts have not been onboarded into the NFT space. In other words, most show-lovers still don't have an NFT wallet, pushing NFT tickets out of the equation for many organizers.

Of course, some digitally native communities, like those surrounding 3LAU, Steve Aoki, BT, and more, are more aware and accepting of NFT ticketing. But to others (especially general music lovers), NFT ticketing doesn't lend enough advantages over downloading a conventional PDF ticket via mobile devices.

The Companies that are leading the NFT Ticketing

There is no doubt that NFT ticketing is the future for ticketing companies. Innovators like these five companies are racing to tackle the problems of the ticketing industry. As a result, the adoption of NFT ticketing is already growing fast. Mark Cuban is even working on bringing NFT ticketing to the NBA. As a result, the NFT ticketing industry is expected to disrupt online event ticketing, reaching 60 billion by 2026.

NFT Ticketing is quickly taking over the ticketing industry. These five companies are taking the ticketing industry by storm with innovation.

GUTS – over 600k tickets sold
WICKET – ticketed Milano wine festival
NFT TiX – growing US-based NFT ticketing platform
Seatlab – upcoming NFT ticketing marketplace
YellowHeart - NFT tickets for the music industry

I am in no way affiliated with the companies mentioned above. However, I know they are disputing the concerts/events space with their NFT ticket tech.

Conclusion

NFT has been driving radical changes across various industries, including Ticketing. Live events space is one of the industries that could be disrupted by NFTs completely. However, it is an industry that ticketing companies and concert promoters should keep an eye on for potential opportunities and emerging tech to make live events better than before. NFTs for Ticketing bring transparency to the ticketing platform and assure the secondary buyer that they are getting a valid ticket.

Thank you. I look forward to hearing your own insights and comments

Cheers,

Eric F

If you want to get in touch about interesting NFT ideas or projects or want to hear about a specific topic, I'm @ericclfung on Twitter.

Thanks to @gg & @Wacko & @CISBROS & @All-ETH for reviewing this post.

Disclaimer: I am just an NFT dreamer & builder who had some success in this crypto and NFT space. The above does not constitute an offer or solicitation to offer or recommend any investment product.

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