Ticketmaster is teaming up with the popular heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold to provide NFT-gated pre-sale tickets for its upcoming tour.
Avenged Sevenfold already has their own NFT community fan club called the Deathbats Club. By partnering with Ticketmaster, the band will give its fan base priority access to tickets and added levels of security, such as the absence of scalpers and bots.
The news got some people in Web3 music, like Rob Abelow, the founder of Web3 music platform Dopr, talking on Twitter:
To purchase tickets, users must connect a crypto wallet to their Ticketmaster account. Deathbats Club NFT holders receive exclusive access to the presale, which runs from now until Tuesday afternoon, and there are certain sections at each venue that are reserved for club members.
Ticketmaster’s executive Vice President of Global Music David Marcus said that the partnership with Avenged Sevenfold was just the beginning. In the future, artists can use the technology to unlock premiere seating, and unique experiences like “sitting in on soundcheck.”
M. Shadows, the front man for Avenged Sevenfold, said that NFT-gating process will assure “fans get the best tickets at the best prices without bots, scalpers and long wait-times.”
Ticketmaster has had a problem in the past with scalpers and bots buying and reselling tickets, drastically inflating ticket prices for fans. The global ticketing company hopes to use NFT and blockchain technology to put an end to these practices.
Ticketmaster Marches Slow & Steady into Web3
For fans of Avenged Sevenfold, access to affordable and secure tickets through Ticketmaster’s NFT technology is big news. But this isn’t the first move from Ticketmaster in Web3. At Rarity Sniper, we’ve covered several stories about Ticketmaster recently. Here are the top stories.
First, in November, news was announced that Ticketmaster registered several Web3 trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The trademarks were for virtual media and goods, digital goods created with blockchain-based software technology, virtual experiences, and downloadable computer software for trading NFTs.
Seven months ago, Ticketmaster announced it would use the Flow blockchain from Dapper Labs for minting tickets as NFTs for events. The NFTs serve as tickets and as collectible digital media that show “proof of attendance” and can be stored and traded on the blockchain.
Lastly, in August, Ticketmaster posted a job posting for a product manager to explore NFT ticketing. The new product manager will be tasked with utilizing NFTs across all industries, especially sports and music.
Ticketmaster is owned by Live Nation, the world’s largest entertainment company, so its entrance into Web3 is a big deal. If it can use NFT technology to eliminate some of its past problems, like scalpers and bots, it could be a win for both artists and fans. We’ll be following up on any new developments in the story.