NFT tickets on stage in 2022, connecting artists and fans

Non-fungible tokens have proven successful in many industries. From gaming to high-end luxury fashion, NFT use cases demonstrate the importance of creating a lasting connection between a company or brand and its users/customers.

So it’s no surprise that the $1 billion event ticketing industry is being disrupted by non-fungible tokens.Specifically, the online event ticketing department — which is expected $60 billion by 2026 – likely to see an increase in NFT ticket platforms and marketplaces that issue virtual tickets via blockchain networks.

Colby Mort, head of marketing and communications at NFT ticketing infrastructure provider Get Protocol, told Cointelegraph that every ticket issued using the Get Protocol platform is minted as an NFT on the Polygon blockchain. He added: “Get Protocol has processed over 1 million on-chain registered tickets for global events since 2016, of which 500,000 are NFT tickets processed during 2021.”

While notable, it is important to point out that NFT tickets are gaining popularity as they are designed to address the inefficiencies faced by traditional ticketing systems. Josh Katz, founder and CEO of YellowHeart, a marketplace for NFT tickets for music and live events, told Cointelegraph that NFT tickets give fans more control while providing artists with ongoing royalties. Katz noted that the following points are important when considering issues related to traditional ticketing models:

“Ticketing today faces enormous challenges, including counterfeiting, bad actors, rampant fraud, and most importantly fragmentation. For example, when a major ticketing platform issues a ticket, it can be listed on the secondary market Multiple buys and sells. NFT tickets solve all those problems.”

According to Katz, the original premise behind the NFT ticketing platform was to redirect funds from third-party ticket sellers back to artists. He explained that NFT tickets can provide ongoing royalties to stakeholders, artists and event organizers: “Currently, artists earn 95% primary and 5% secondary. But when YellowHeart secondary opens in Q2 , artists will be able to set their own secondary rates and maintain a revenue stream of up to 100%.”

Echoing Katz, Mort commented that Get Protocol’s white-label ticketing products include a mobile app, event dashboard, online ticketing store and other complementary features. Mort explained that these elements help eliminate ticket resale while giving event organizers complete control over their secondary market ticket sales: “This ensures that event organizers can reasonably get more revenue from event ticket sales, while keeping artists and A direct connection between all fans, which has been lost to external platforms before.”

Arguably, control over secondary market sales is one of the most important features that NFT tickets offer, especially as a ticket broker continue Buy thousands of event tickets to resell at great prices. Knowing about the matter, Marc Brownstein, co-founder and bassist of American jam band The Disco Biscuits, told Cointelegraph that, as a musician, he fully supports the idea of ​​NFT tickets. Disco Biscuits has explored NFTs elsewhere, most recently Announce Their second NFT album was released. Brownstein said:

“As a creator and artist, being able to have a presence in the secondary ticketing market is valuable. For example, if you’re releasing a 500-ticket show, and each ticket costs $50, those shows can sell out instantly , and then listed on Stubhub for $500 each. It’s a scene that artists are very familiar with, so getting commissions from secondary sales is very opportunistic.”

NFT tickets create lasting connections between fans and artists

In addition to giving back to artists and event organizers, Katz also mentioned that NFT tickets have eternal utility.For example, Katz shared King Leon’s Tokenized NFT Album Nearly $1.45 million was generated in OpenSea’s first five days of sales. Parts of this release include VIP fan experiences, band meetups, exclusive tour merchandise, and more. Katz explained that returning live music events since the end of the COVID-19 lockdown can now issue NFT tickets with similar utility:

“Individuals who purchase NFT tickets can choose to join the community for that artist or event. Merchandise booths may also be available, orders can be placed digitally, show shipping is provided, and more. NFT tickets also allow for contract changes, so prior to a show or event, hold Some can be regarded as VIPs. In addition, there are practical functions after the exhibition.”

While the concept behind NFT tickets is still emerging, its potential is becoming more apparent to the mainstream.Recently, the National Football League Announce A limited-edition NFT for the post-2021 season.

Robert Gallo, senior vice president of NFL club business development, told Cointelegraph that the NFL will begin distributing free virtual commemorative tickets to fans in the form of NFTs in November 2021. “Since then, we’ve distributed over 250,000 free NFTs to fans attending select matches.” Gallo added that the goal of the launch is to leverage innovation and technology to create more one-on-one experiences while at the same time Offering fans new and unique ways to commemorate the game day experience:

“With the popularity of regular-season virtual commemorative ticket NFTs, we will continue to release NFTs during the playoffs until the Super Bowl. Fans who choose to participate in the playoffs will receive a free virtual commemorative ticket NFT, and as the team progresses , all fans of each playoff round will also receive a limited number of NFTs to commemorate each team’s performance in the playoffs.”

Will centralized ticketing providers hinder innovation?

Gallo further explained that the NFL’s NFT marketplace is powered by global ticketing giant Ticketmaster. Nonetheless, Katz mentioned that some artists have come to YellowHeart to launch NFT tickets, but have run into difficulties as companies like Ticketmaster vetoed the idea by not offering NFT support at affiliated concert venues. “Artists want to reap the benefits here, but the incumbents are forcing them to stick to a centralized ticketing model. During 2021, I have about 10 to 20 shows that I want to tour through YellowHeart, but Ticketmaster or Live Nation shut them down,” Katz said.

Instead, some industry experts believe that large centralized institutions will encourage adoption. Colin Fitzpatrick, CEO of Metaverse concert organizer Animal Concerts, told Cointelegraph that Ticketmaster and other large institutions are accelerating strategies to embed NFT capabilities into existing businesses.

In fact, that seems to have been the case. For example, Akshay Khanna, general manager of StubHub North America, told Cointelegraph that StubHub has been following the popularity of NFTs in recent years and offered creative views on what this means for StubHub’s future business:

“We believe in the magic and novelty that comes with every live experience, and any innovation that brings more personalized fan engagement to live events is good for the industry. We haven’t developed anything unique in this regard, though. , but as the NFL’s trusted marketplace for tickets, we have been a distribution channel for NFTs, and the league is distributing NFTs to ticket buyers of various games.”

Mort added that large centralized companies will likely gain the most from applying some type of NFT ticketing model. Mort shared that Get Protocol has generated a lot of interest from incumbent ticketing companies and many questions about their possible implementation. With this in mind, Get Protocol has developed a “digital twin” product that allows these companies to explore the benefits of NFT tickets. He elaborated:

“This enables ‘pairing’ of their ticketing operations through Get Protocol. For every ticket they issue, a copy of the NFT is created, allowing the integrated ticketing company to do business as usual with zero operational risk, while adding value to various Features such as tickets to become digital collectibles for fans and the scalability of Web3.”

Despite the innovative nature of this solution, Mort explained that large companies will be reluctant to adopt the NFT ticketing model if it hurts their revenue. “It’s a matter of showing lasting added value in areas that may not be available now. It’s not utopian from a blockchain enthusiast’s perspective, but finding a middle ground is the fastest way to mass adoption of NFTs.”

Metaverse will push NFT tickets forward

Challenges aside, NFT tickets may catch on in 2022 With the rise of the metaverseFor example, NFTs could be a way for the music industry to add to the revenue it has lost since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For example, Fitzpatrick explained that Animal Concerts allows users to buy tickets in the Metaverse using the company’s token, ANML. This gives users full access to Metaverse concerts in familiar ecosystems like Decentraland and The Sandbox. Next, the company plans to build its own Metaverse concert venue.Animal Concert recently announced a Partnership with Klaytn network of Korean unicorn Kakao to increase its exposure in the Korean entertainment industry.

related: Concerts in the metaverse could spark a new wave of adoption, Cointelegraph Magazine

Katz added that YellowHeart is considering applying its NFT tickets in the Metaverse environment: “We’re working hard to secure venues and partnerships in the Metaverse because that’s going to be a disruptive angle.” However, Katz noted that the Metaverse ecosystem Never fully replace live music: “Metaverse will complement live music, making sure we now have both options.”