Live Nation, the world’s largest music event organizer, announced the launch of Live Stubs, free non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are the digital equivalent of ticket stubs. The first event to use Live Stubs is the tour for Swedish House Mafia. The blockchain-based ticket stubs will be available for any tour locations promoted by Live Nation or venues that process tickets through Ticketmaster, a division of LiveNation.
“Our Live Stubs product brings back the nostalgia of collecting ticket stubs while also giving artists a new tool to deepen that relationship with their fans and we can’t wait to see what the creativity of this community dreams up as it grows,” said Michael Rapino, President and CEO, Live Nation Entertainment.
It isn’t the first time Live Nation has used NFTs. Apart from Live Stubs, it has minted NFTs at the Chicago Music Festical Lollapalooza, EDC and the Governors Ball.
Stepping back, Live Nation has been exploring blockchain for some time. Back in 2018 Ticketmaster acquired sports ticketing startup Upgraded. Beyond collectibles, one of the promises of blockchain for tickets is the ability to prevent ticket touts by limiting the transfer of tickets and other techniques.
All blockchain-based tickets are technically non-fungible tokens, since NFTs by definition are unique, as are tickets. However, the term NFT has become synonymous with collectibles, and not all blockchain tickets are designed for the collectible aspect.
During an earnings call in May, Rapino stated he believed many of blockchain’s benefits can be achieved with digital tickets and without blockchain. However, at that stage, he highlighted the potential of tickets as souvenirs and also floated the potential of NFT moments that represent event video clips.
In April, Live Nation France partnered with FanDragon Technologies to use its TixTo.Me blockchain-based ticket wallet, but no mention was made of the collectible NFT aspect.
The announcement of Live Stubs stated that an eco-friendly blockchain was being used. We’ve asked which one and will update when we receive a response.
Meanwhile, two other companies using blockchain for ticketing are Secutix and True Tickets. Secutix has its TIXnGo solution, which is being used for several sports events such as UEFA’s Euro 2020 and Dutch football team Ajax. True Tickets is more focused on artistic events, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
