Ticketmaster's NFT-Gated Features

From the Messiverse to Instagram tokens, the NFT pool is getting bigger and bigger. Now comes a new shape of the non-fungible tokens with Ticketmaster!

THE Ticketmaster?

Yes, the one and the same. The largest ticketing service provider in the US or more recently known as the ticketing company got dragged through the mud by Swifties. Look what you made them do! The ticket monopoly launched a new feature that allows artists to grant their NFTs-owning fans early access to events, pre-sales, and other rewards.

How did it happen?

It all started with metal.

Metal band Avenged Sevenfold partnered with Ticketmaster and Bitflips, which creates artist-centric NFT projects. The tokens are called “token-gated ticket sales” which are compatible with Ethereum-minted tokens stored in digital wallets. Just like Fan Tokens for football fans, such NFTs are supposed to strengthen the bond between the artists and the fans.

This new token feature is currently available to any artist who has their own NFT collection or is in partnership with an NFT community. Through Flow blockchain and Ethereum scaling network Polygon, Ticketmaster has created nearly 15 million digital collectables related to events.

While the move is great on the tech side, we should ask if this move is better for the fans? Sure, having access to presale tickets and other perks is any fan’s dream, but not all fans have access to or can afford NFTs.

And this comes after Ticketmaster’s congressional hearing on Taylor Swift’s ticket fiasco. You know, the one where Ticketmaster employed dynamic pricing so the majority of fans paid more than double or treble the actual price ticket?

This was only available to the presale peeps as well and no tickets were left for the rest of the fans.

So, what do you think? Is this new token-gated ticket sales a good idea or are we gonna see a new Ticketmaster fiasco?