While the intersection between music and technology is not a new concept, our utilization of tech to enhance our music experience continues to evolve. Music festivals are a prime example of this evolution, having started as road trips to open fields where experiencing live shows often meant being surrounded by dirt and thousands of other people pushing to get a glimpse of the artist. But now, we have mega-screens, VIP boxes, online streaming, AR and VR technology, and more, all aimed at enhancing user enjoyment. By way of Web3 advancements, we can experience our favorite festivals before we even touch the concert grounds — all thanks to NFT tickets.
NFT tickets are digital assets stored on the blockchain that provide consumers access to specific credentials. Each NFT ticket is backed by a smart contract that has preset rules, allowing owners to perform certain actions. They are unique compared to regular tickets because they offer exclusive ownership since they’re minted on the blockchain. Additionally, NFT tickets offer full transparency as they allow consumers to access their entire purchase history from start to finish.
Unlike traditional passes, you won’t find these on StubHub or Ticketmaster. They have to be purchased on platforms like Oveit, a site that allows you to create, sell, and mint NFT tickets. Oveit makes purchases easy for consumers by partnering with companies like PayPal and Stripe. Additionally, ticket creators can easily collect consumer data by simply exporting a document.
If you’re looking for a user-friendly NFT ticketing platform, Yellowheart is another excellent option. As noted by NFT Investor Journal, Yellowheart not only offers that service but also doubles as an NFT platform and marketplace, making it easy to resell tickets in one space. They have even worked with mainstream artists like Maroon 5 and have solutions in place to sell tickets on major social media platforms like Instagram.
Get Protocol is another NFT ticketing company worth checking out. They offer a white-label product that allows users to create their custom ticket wallet app and ticket status dashboard. The company also provides a developer hub for further customization of its platform. Get Protocol already offers ticket services for over 200 events monthly, making them a reliable choice.
Though NFT tickets are relatively new, mainstream festivals haven’t hesitated to test the waters with them. Per nft now, fan-favorite event Coachella was one of the first major fests to utilize these types of tickets for memorabilia and lifetime festival access. Coachella made this happen through a partnership with FTX, which fell by the wayside thanks to legal issues with the exchange. However, the fact that a festival of Coachella’s magnitude used NFTs opened new doors for other festivals to learn about the space and eventually do the same.
Another concert series that has dabbled in the world of NFT tickets is Afterparty, a festival located in Las Vegas. They dropped 1,500 NFTs that allowed consumers exclusive access to the two-day event that took place in March 2022.
Rolling Loud, one of the world’s biggest hip hop fests, is another that made use of NFTs earlier this year. They teamed up with LoudPunx, a PFP project that allowed NFT holders to gain global access to any Rolling Loud festival for a lifetime. As NFT tickets continue to gain traction, we can expect to see more festivals and events exploring this new frontier, thanks to their many perks.
One significant advantage is that the issuer of the ticket can control the initial and resell value price, limiting resellers who want to take advantage of buyers. Additionally, the issuer can track the seller history during resale, unlike traditional ticketing sites, enabling more consumer data collection on festivalgoers. This data can help artists and concert promoters improve and tailor their shows to their specific audience.
Another significant benefit of NFT tickets is that the issuer can receive a percentage of secondary sales, creating a long-term, passive stream of income for artists. Unlike traditional passes, NFT tickets hold other perks outside of attending the initial festival as well, such as exclusive communities, merchandise discounts, collectibility, early access to the next events, and more. Think of NFT tickets as a membership featuring collectible cards rather than just a standard ticket.
Finally, NFT tickets offer a unique advantage over traditional passes in that they cannot be duplicated, thanks to blockchain technology. Verification of NFT tickets can be done directly on the blockchain network, thereby eliminating the possibility of buying a fake. Additionally, they are digitally stored within a user’s wallet, meaning there is no risk of losing them, and thereby lowering production costs.
While NFT tickets have had some success in the mainstream festival market, they haven’t fully crossed over yet. However, there is a middle ground many have been exploring between NFTs and festivals called POAP. POAP is short for Proof of Attendance Protocol, which allows users to create commemorative NFT badges using blockchain technology, nft now states. This concept has been around for years and allows artists or event organizers to reward consumers for attending festivals. Rewards can include Airdrops, discounts, exclusive community access, early event access, and more.
NFT tickets let artists curate music festivals in a way we’ve never seen, allowing an exclusive experience for their die-hard fans before, during, and after concerts. This fosters stronger communities within fan bases, encourages reoccurring festivalgoers, and offers a new way to engage with our favorite musicians while enjoying the music we know and love. NFT tickets allow us to memorialize festivals as a staple in history with a digital asset that will last for a lifetime. In the next five to 10 years, I predict a good percentage of tickets will be issued on the blockchain to ensure that these exclusive experiences are accessible to every festival attendee.