Yesterday, blockchain ticketing service True Tickets partnered with Shubert Ticketing to secure mobile tickets to Broadway shows with blockchain. The announcement was made at the Broadway Tech Accelerator meeting, where Shubert said it would launch a pilot with True Tickets in 2020.
Shubert Ticketing operates Telecharge.com, one of the providers of ticketing services for Broadway shows. The ticketing industry faces the problem of touts who buy tickets in bulk and sell them on a secondary market for a higher profit. While theatregoers pay higher prices, it also poses a security risk for event organizers as the buyer’s identity is unverified.
Last year, CNBC reported that about 12% of people buying concert tickets get scammed. There have been instances where attendees have bought tickets and entered the theatre to find someone else sitting in their seats. This is due to the double sale of the same ticket. Using blockchain, ticketing services can control the sale and resale of tickets by third-party operators.
“We’re excited for this pilot with True Tickets to help us explore how to standardize processes across our partners and create a more consistent customer experience,” said Kyle Wright of Shubert Ticketing and Managing Principal of Broadway Tech Accelerator.
True Tickets’ platform is built on the IBM Blockchain. The collaboration with Shubert is to integrate the distributed ledger technology (DLT) in the current digital delivery ticketing service such as Telecharge.com, Broadway Inbound and other distribution partners. Blockchain will ensure the authenticity of the tickets consumers receive on their mobile phones.
Blockchain in ticketing has other potential applications as well. For example, if a show gets cancelled, the organizers can issue tickets to the rescheduled show with ease. Another potential scenario is rather than showing a mobile ticket, an individual’s face or fingerprint could be used to allow entry to a venue.
The use of DLT for ticketing has been explored before. A few months ago, Dutch company GUTS Tickets used blockchain to sell tickets to an event scheduled for June 2020. Last year it sold 50,000 blockchain tickets for a single show.
Earlier this year, UK-listed TechFinancials said it is investing in a blockchain startup with football ticketing platform Footies Tech. The aim is to tackle the secondary market for match tickets and get better control over ticket resales.
And Ticketmaster acquired blockchain startup Upgraded for sports ticketing.
