Box Office Access — How Blockchain Improves The Ticketing Experience For Buyers and Sellers

Live events form a valuable portion of the global economy. However, the impact of live events doesn’t stop with the economic value they provide. For artists and performers, they offer an outlet for creative expression and a chance to connect with their fans. Likewise, the live events experience can create memories that last a lifetime for fans and attendees.

Event ticketing is a crucial part of live events. It generates revenue for organisers and artists and ensures a safe environment for events to take place through access control and crowd placement.

Yet, despite the integral role of ticketing in the life cycle of a live event, current Web2 platforms are failing to meet the needs of both fans and ticket sellers. Ticket fraud still costs victims on average £850, while buying bots allow scalpers an unprecedented level of access to tickets they can then resell for profit on the secondary market.

Fans either miss out on tickets altogether at the expense of scalpers or are the victims of ticket fraud. At the same time, artists and event organisers can do little to stop their tickets from being purchased by those looking to turn a profit at the expense of true fans.

In short, ticketing for fans, event organisers and artists is something that is simply tolerated as a necessary part of the live events experience.

Blockchain technology is ushering in the decentralisation of the internet, known as Web3. With it comes the opportunity to transform several industries to better serve consumers, including event ticketing.

Blockchain and Web3

Blockchains are decentralised networks that securely encrypt and distribute the data held on them. They act as irrefutable ledgers, recording all transactions and data stored on them in a permanent, secure manner. This distribution of encrypted data has many advantages when compared to the centralised model of data storage utilised by Web2.

The primary benefit of blockchain technology is the improved authentication it provides for digital assets. This is demonstrated by the recent boom of NFT artwork, where the original file is stored on a blockchain with its history and ownership verifiable for all to see. Since the original file can now be identified, digital artwork has been (very occasionally) setting prices only physical works could aim for as owners look to flex their new asset in the digital space.

The rise of digital assets is thanks to the secure nature of blockchain networks and their transparency and traceability. The ability to track the journey of digital NFT assets has seen an increase in the use of blockchain networks for supply chain management and logistics as well.

Blockchain and Event Ticketing

So, where does this transparency, traceability and security that blockchain provides fit into the world of event ticketing?

Well, it’s all apparent when we view a blockchain as a distributed ledger recording all of the assets and transactions that happen on its network.

The verifiability of assets on a blockchain has the potential to eradicate ticket fraud almost entirely. As proved by digital assets stored as NFTs in various formats (pictures, video, audio), a blockchain makes it impossible to create a fake version of the original.

The elimination of fraud from ticketing would be a huge step for the event ticketing industry but would also have a massive impact on the experience for event attendees. With fraud still a serious concern for consumers when purchasing tickets, the verifiability of an NFT ticket via a blockchain has big ramifications for the level of trust that ticketing platforms can guarantee.

Similarly, in addition to the extra trust, blockchain networks and the traceability they offer also allow an unparalleled level of insight into the journey a ticket makes when sold. This means we can begin to identify bad actor scalpers and automated buying bots that plague the current box office experience. Used in conjunction with smart contracts that stipulate price ceilings and royalty splits from secondary sales, the system that touts and scalpers have exploited for so long will no longer aid them, resulting in a significant reduction in scalping activity.

Improved Buying Experience & Safety

The impact of reduced scalping, alongside an elimination of fraud, will completely change the consumer experience of buying tickets at the box office.

Although blockchain technology is in its relative infancy when compared with Web2, as adoption continues to grow and more events are ticketed via NFTs, attendees can expect to see a smoother process for ticket purchasing. True fans will no longer have to fight automated buying bots for tickets, while they can be assured their purchase is legitimate thanks to the verifiable ledger that blockchain provides.

The result will be an overall improvement of their experience of a live event, beginning at the point of purchase.

These improvements also stand to benefit artists and event organisers as well, alleviating concerns they may have about who is purchasing their tickets. In addition, it provides another level of safety to the event itself, without the potential for unexpected attendees who have gained access via fraudulent tickets.

The Future

Since the creation of Bitcoin in 2012, there has been a huge amount of hype around cryptocurrencies, and the introduction of NFTs by the Ethereum network sparked an enormous level of interest in digital artwork.

As the markets continue to fluctuate for investors in those assets respectively, the continued development of decentralised technology has introduced many to the additional utility that Web3 might provide for different industries.

Here at SeatlabNFT, our goal is to provide a Web3 ticketing platform that addresses some of the critical failings of current ticketing solutions. We’re building our platform on the climate-neutral NEAR Protocol blockchain to eliminate fraud and significantly reduce the impact of scalping. We want to provide fans and artists with a ticketing platform that serves them and enhances their event experience.

To find out more about how we’re redefining the event ticketing industry, see our latest platform updates or join our community, check out the links below.

‍