How Our Blockchain Ticketing Technology is Changing Live Events

Blockchain technology is already transforming the way many industries operate. From supply chain logistics and medical records to the entertainment industry, digital art and finance, Web3 has revolutionised how we interact with technology.

With the continued spread of blockchain networks into everyday life, you’ve likely come across some mention of them already. In the sporting world, the UEFA Champions League has been using blockchain-based ticketing since 2020. The NFL and NBA are utilising NFTs to supercharge their fan experience with collectable digital assets. There’s even talk of blockchain ticketing being used for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The world of art has also been transformed by the introduction of blockchain technology, with digital works now fetching prices only seen before for physical works. Similarly, the hype around NFTs became so large in 2021 that digital assets in the virtual worlds known as the Metaverse were selling for crazy amounts of money.

So with the Web3 era firmly underway, today, we’re taking a look at how blockchain ticketing will radically transform the live events community.

What is Blockchain?

Simply put, a blockchain is a distributed ledger, where the data is held in blocks, securely encrypted and chained together.

By contrast, Web2 (our current version of the internet) uses tables to store data. Storing information in blocks that are chained together provides a timeline of the data on a network. Once the block is chained to the previous block, the information on it cannot be altered. In this way, blockchains act as irrefutable ledgers for their data and provide traceability and transparency for actions on their network.

We don’t need to get too technical here, but if you want to read more about blockchain networks, this article is a good place to start.

Blockchain Ticketing

So how does blockchain work with event ticketing?

Event tickets have become almost fully digitalised in the past few years. The introduction of QR codes meant the distribution of paper tickets was no longer necessary, but this has done little to address some of the critical issues that have plagued the event ticketing industry.

Blockchain ticketing has the opportunity to address these issues, particularly with regard to ticket scalping and ticket fraud.

Issuing tickets as NFTs eliminates the potential for fraudulent tickets, thanks to the way that blockchains store data, but it also opens up a new level of control over the secondary market.

NFT Tickets

Non-fungible tokens are digital assets that cannot be replaced by another one of their kind.

The non-fungible nature of these assets is responsible for the boom in NFT artwork and collectables that we have discussed in the introduction. Since ownership and authenticity are guaranteed by the blockchain, it makes sense that these digital assets could also be applied to event ticketing.

How Event Ticketing Uses Blockchain

While UEFA has used blockchain as a way of storing customer data for the Champions League Final tickets that were sold, the tickets themselves were not issued as NFTs.

The next step in blockchain event ticketing is to use NFT tickets, fully issued on a blockchain using the irrefutable ledger that the decentralised networks provide. Doing so would bring several advantages to everyone involved in the live events community; fans, artists and event organisers.

This is because blockchains also enable the use of smart contracts, which are self-executing pieces of code that govern NFTs. Smart contracts can provide event organisers and artists with unparalleled control over the secondary market, which for years has been dominated by scalpers and touts, aided by the inability of Web2 solutions to tackle the issue.

Blockchain Ticketing - Enabling Secondary Market Control

NFT tickets governed by smart contracts can completely change the dynamic of ticket sales as we currently know it.

Currently, it’s an all too familiar story when tickets to a big-name artist or a highly anticipated event go on sale. Loyal fans wait in online queues, desperately hoping to beat the scalping bots and get tickets to the show. While a few fans get their tickets at the box office, the rest are left looking at eye-watering prices on the secondary market, as scalpers look to turn demand for the event into profit for themselves.

Various measures implemented by events themselves or the ticketing providers have failed to disrupt the business model of those looking to profit from secondary market sales.

NFT tickets offer a way to reverse the status quo in a manner that benefits artists and event creators. It would also allow fans more equal access to tickets at the box office and a way to sell their tickets at a fair price, should they be unable to attend an event.

With smart contracts governing NFT tickets, event organisers can set both price ceilings and royalty splits to impact the ability of scalpers to profit.

Price Ceilings

Price ceilings can be set by a smart contract, meaning that when an NFT ticket is created, the party creating it can set a maximum price for its resale.

This allows fans unable to attend an event to resell their ticket and recoup their investment and gives fans who missed out a chance at attending the event, at a fair price. However, it removes the potential for reselling tickets for profit!

Royalty Splits

Royalty splits allow those creating NFT tickets to determine where a set percentage of revenue from secondary sales is directed.

When creating an NFT ticket on SeatlabNFT, for example, event organisers can define single or multiple beneficiaries from any secondary sale. If an event has two headline acts, smart contracts could automatically direct revenue from a secondary sale of an NFT ticket to both of those performers.

NFT Ticketing - Fairer Box Office Access

Using blockchain for ticketing along with smart contracts allows fairer box office access for fans and gives an entirely new level of control over the secondary market to those who organise live events.

Along with a better box office experience, the transparent ledger that blockchain provides also opens up a world of possibilities for fans to experience live events in a whole new way.

Blockchain Tickets & NFT Airdrops - The New Era of Immersive Experiences

Since blockchains record ownership of assets, it’s possible to use this functionality to ‘airdrop’ those who hold select NFTs various perks and rewards.

This means that we can view blockchain-based ticketing as the gateway to a more immersive live event experience.

NFTs have already begun transforming the entertainment industry, giving fans an enhanced experience, and increasing engagement and revenue for organisations and stars that use them.

Airdrops will make live events more immersive for attendees, providing an experience that keeps them guessing, and a real connection to the artists and performers they love. There are several ways in which to use airdrops via blockchain ticketing platforms, which are only just beginning to be explored.

SeatlabNFT - A Blockchain Ticketing Platform

SeatlabNFT is designed to help artists and event creators harness the power of NFT ticketing and airdrop functionality while giving fans a ticketing experience that rewards their loyalty.

There are no hidden fees in our NFT ticketing platform, in fact, it’s free for artists and event creators to issue tickets on SeatlabNFT.

Our blockchain event ticketing system merges the engagement model of cryptocurrency projects like SWEAT and the fraud-proof anti-scalping capabilities that Web3 systems provide. By using blockchain for ticketing we have built a platform that will redefine the way the event ticketing industry works.

SeatlabNFT features a Rewards Centre, where fans are able to earn rewards simply by holding our native token $SEAT. In addition, holding $SEAT will also reduce the buyers fee (default 6.5%) that is automatically added to each NFT ticket. There are many reasons that fans will want to buy tickets using our blockchain ticketing platform, and loads of reasons why it’s better to sell tickets on too!

The Future

Live events are set to change drastically with the introduction of blockchain ticketing technology. By using NFT ticketing platforms, artists and event creators can gain a new level of control over secondary market sales, in turn providing fans with better access at the box office.

The benefits of blockchain ticketing don’t stop there. With the ability to airdrop ticket holders perks and rewards, live events become more immersive and captivating for their audience, ushering in a new era for event ticketing powered by blockchain.

There is no denying that NFTs and blockchain are revolutionising entertainment and other industries, and event ticketing is one area that can be enhanced through the use of Web3 technology.

To see how our blockchain ticketing system can benefit your next event, get in touch with us today.