Are NFTs usable in large events?

Due to their specific nature, NFTs have rapidly gained attention and traction. The blockchain-based digital assets solve many of our current problems in several industries. And event management makes no difference here. However, although they have been used for numerous events, there is a legit question: are NFTs usable in large events? During this article we are going to answer this question, arguing why we could and should use NFTs in events. Be they large or small.

While blockchain technologies in general and NFTs, in particular, serve a wide range of industries, entertainment is one particular area where these technologies will completely change how stakeholders interact. It’s going to change it fast, making the industry safer, equitable, more engaging & entertaining, and ensuring a more equitable financial distribution amongst creators. And most importantly, NFTs will help you serve your attendees better.

Let’s see how!

How NFTs are helping event organizers

As an event organizer, delivering an enjoyable experience to your community is the top priority. However, regardless of the amount of work you put in, some things are just out of your control. But fear not: some of these issues can be easily solved through NFTs. 

One of the biggest concerns, especially when it comes to large events, is related to event tickets. Unlike other goods, tickets to an event, no matter how big the event is, are limited. No matter how much we would like to, there is a limit that cannot be exceeded. And this makes event tickets extremely highly desired. The bigger the demand, the bigger the problems.

French minister says 70% of Champions League final tickets were fake

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/

There are two issues that currently used technologies cannot solve. Ticket fraud and secondary market sales. Although related, let’s approach them one at a time.

Tackling ticket fraud with NFT tickets

Like in the above example, for highly coveted events, fraudsters will create and sell fake tickets. No matter the security measures you take, somebody will find a way to replicate and sell them. This can lead to unpleasant situations where a large number of attendees, that paid to join an experience, are forbidden from entering the event premises. With large events, this can easily turn into public safety concerns.

Another used method is selling the same legit ticket multiple times. There have been cases when hundreds of guiltless attendees arrived at the gates holding the same, valid, ticket. Unpleasant to say the least. 

Through their immutable nature, NFTs tickets will protect your community against fraudsters. These digital assets cannot be copied or altered, and the blockchain network on which they are issued and deployed is guaranteeing each new item. So it’s going to be impossible to release batches of fake tickets and try to scam your community.

At the same time, as these NFTs are minted into a digital wallet, the same NFT ticket cannot have multiple owners at the same time. Unless you decide otherwise. Nobody will be able to sell the same legit ticket to multiple buyers at once.

Transforming the secondary market

a human hand holding approximately 10 paper event tickets
Photo by Andy Li on Unsplash

Unlike the first example, secondary market transactions are in a gray area. While some of these transactions are 100% legit, some are immoral or illegal. While it’s only normal for someone that can’t make it to an event to sell the ticket to someone else, things dramatically change when we talk about scalpers automatically buying thousands of tickets just to resell them for a profit. 

But NFT tickets are giving you full control not over the initial sale, but over transactions taking place on the secondary market as well. As NFTs are connected to crypto wallets, you can limit the number of tickets that can be minted to a specific wallet address. Thus preventing scalpers to buy large quantities of tickets from your initial releases. 

And as NFTs are governed by smart contracts, this means that they can be programmed to act in specific ways when certain criteria are met. You can set upper and lower prices for secondary market sales or even block them from reselling. Although eliminating the reselling option is not recommended for large events, setting up reselling limits will protect your community against those looking to make an easy profit from your work. But as we will see in the next chapters, secondary market resale can open a new revenue stream for event organizers.

New revenue streams for event organizers

But setting up lower and upper limits for reselling is not the only way to customize the NFTs smart contract. The option to set up royalties is one of the reasons that drove the rapid adoption of NFTs. Here is how this works: each time the NFT is part of a transaction, a certain percentage goes back to its original issuer. In fact, the smart contract can be set up to include multiple parties, not just the original issuer. But you get the point: NFT tickets can help event organizers not control how tickets are distributed on the secondary market, but also get a cut from those transactions. So, for your events, you can set up a smart contract to get 50% of any profit the reseller makes for your tickets. Or to donate it to charity.

For large events, where many stakeholders are involved, this can also tackle another inaccessible market: the invites. Although not talked about, for any large festival there is a secondary market where invites are sold for profit. As thousands of invites go out to sponsors and partners, a consistent number of those find themselves sold by their initial holders. Although not against the rules, these transactions could be easily controlled by the event organizers through the use of NFTs. And just like for the above example, a smart contract could be set up so that a certain percentage of these transactions finds its way back to those putting up the hard world. Or to any other third party that you may think of.

Improving the event-goers’ experience via NFTs

NFTs play a major role in protecting your community against fraudsters and scalpers. But there are many other ways they help you improve their overall experience. The non-fungible tokens are a digital representation of any physical or digital goods (or services)  that it’s associated with. If we look at them as simple tokenized tickets, the benefit associated would be the access credentials for the event. And maybe some artwork that it comes with. But the truth is that NFTs allow you to customize the experience beyond imagination. 
You can pre-pack goods and services that create immersive experiences. You can allow your community access to special gatherings, exclusive content, and merchandise, all based on one NFT. So the NFT is more than just a pretty picture. Behind the obvious digital artwork, there are countless possibilities waiting for us.

The smart contract that governs the NFT can be set up to include merchandise, access to special areas within the event, or even access to digital experiences. Each of your attendees can easily create and own unique experiences. 


Imagine this scenario: you’re buying a ticket to your favorite band’s gig. You’re including a t-shirt in this purchase, something to eat on-site, and 2 or 3 beverages. And guess what: you’re not buying your average event ticket. You are actually buying an NFT ticket, and this token offers you access to a meet-and-greet online session. Together with a 10% future discount on any new gig where they will perform. And everything is packed up into an NFT that has some digital artwork created by local artists. Quite a collectible digital token, right? Imagine its work 20 years from now. Especially as nobody will ever question the authenticity of this NFT.

Will token-gated events eliminate admission pains?

Not entirely. But they will definitely allow us to have better control over how things are managed on-site. Unlike a classic event ticket, NFTs are accessed through crypto wallets. Meaning that your attendees have 0 chances of losing or misplacing them.

The entire history and authenticity are guaranteed by the blockchain network and fake tickets are completely eliminated. There will be no need for backup checks. You know, the ones that usually keep everyone from getting there faster. The use of NFT tickets will provide better attendance verification. Thus resulting in a more streamlined, efficient, and secure event experience for both organizers and attendees.

While some issues related to event admission cannot be solved by NFTs, they definitely offer you the strings needed to create better overall experiences. And you can further solve these issues by following these tips:

  • Crowd control: By managing crowds properly, you can reduce wait times and line-ups at admission, making the event experience more enjoyable for attendees.
  • Plan ahead: Anticipating potential issues created by big crowds will help prepare and deal with them proactively. Prepare for the worsts, and expect the best.
  • Collaborate with experienced vendors: Experienced vendors, such as security providers, will help you provide a smooth and secure admission.

Potential NFT-related issues

While it’s obvious NFTs are usable in large events, there are technical and logistical challenges you need to consider. And find the right way to overcome them.

Scalability

One of the first things you need to take into consideration is scalability. Is the system capable of handling increased demand? Large events imply tens of thousands of attendees, meaning that there will be a large number of transactions in a very short period of time. This is why it’s important to choose a solution that is ready to handle these situations. Or you can find yourself in a situation leading to slow processing times and increased gas fees.

Connectivity

As the NFTs are accessed through digital wallets, guests will need to be able to connect online. Although this is an issue in the past, you still need to make sure that your customers can easily access the NFTs. Otherwise, you may find yourself in a very unpleasant situation.

Logistical issues at large events

Simply put, how will you check that NFT on the spot and help your attendee claim the benefits? While in theory, the whole idea of NFTs summing multiple benefits sounds great, you need to have a practical way of actually implementing this scenario.  This is one of the main issues we’ve struggled to solve. And we are confident we’ve found the best way to solve the logistical issues for professionals planning to use NFTs for events and festivals.

Adoption rate

I’ve saved it for last as I find it to be more of a theoretical issue. Although controversy around NFTs exists, their utility becomes clearer with each passing day. Today, roughly 60 million Americans own some form of digital asset. At a global level, almost 1 billion people have transacted some form of cryptocurrency. Blockchain technologies benefit from rapid adoption. It won’t be long until all event tickets will be NFT tickets.

Final words

I think it’s safe to say that NFTs are a game-changer in the event management industry. By eliminating ticket fraud and secondary market issues, they protect all the legit stakeholders. The hard and soul of this industry.

Not only do NFTs keep everyone safe, but they also open up new revenue streams. You can now set up smart contracts with royalty options, and earn a cut of any secondary market profits. But most importantly, NFTs can help you enhance the attendee experience, by merging in-person and digital experiences together. 

So, whether it’s a large or small event, NFTs are definitely worth considering for all your event needs. From access control to payments.

February 10, 2023 Event tech, NFT ticketing No comments yet
what is an NFT ticket?

What is an NFT ticket?

Although NFTs represent one of the hottest topics, it’s often difficult to define the exact benefits they come with. The same applies to NFT tickets, of course. So during this article, we will try to explain what an NFT ticket is by naming the main benefits it brings to the events industry. 

While an NFT is a digital record that comes with a computer program attached, in general, they are associated with what meets the eye. The (often not so) pretty pictures. But an NFT ticket is not just a pretty picture. It’s a pretty picture (or gif, or movie) that is disrupting the entertainment industry. And it does it providing utility through the use of blockchain ledgers. This makes it the perfect example of technology used right.

It’s very easy to set up an event and sell electronic tickets. Also for the buyers, the process is similar to buying any electronic ticket. They just need to add it to their digital wallets. Easy to use technology at scale. 

But once the NFT ticket is created (or minted), the opportunities become unlimited. This new technology is not just solving many of the current issues faced by the industry, it’s actually creating new experiences and opportunities. This is why we truly believe that NFTs in the form of event tickets provide one of the biggest opportunities and are the leading example of the utility provided by blockchain technology.

Now really, what is an NFT ticket?

NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are unique digital records created on a blockchain network. Meaning that once created (minted), they can’t be altered or changed. Physical or digital assets (basically anything you can imagine, such as an event ticket, a picture, a song, a video, etc.) are stored with proof of ownership and their entire transaction history. Smart contracts (small computer programs) are associated with NFTs, allowing them to act based on a set of predefined rules.

So an NFT ticket is a digital token stored on the blockchain and has the access credentials (and many other extra benefits provided by the event organizer) embedded within itself. It’s a smart ticket with superpowers that disrupts the entire event industry. And it does it by providing easy access to a complete set of benefits for all parties involved. 

The benefits of adopting NFT ticketing

To get a better understanding of what an NFT ticket is and how it improves the existing processes, let’s focus on the benefits it creates for event organizers, artists, and attendees alike.

NFT ticket issued by Oveit - print screen from Twitter
source: Twitter

An NFT ticket gives you full control over its distribution

One of the biggest problems in event ticketing is scalping – large numbers of tickets are bought with the sole intent of reselling them for a large and quick profit. This action has a high negative impact on the overall attendee experience and creates profit on the (more than) gray secondary market. 

But NFT tickets give the initial seller over the ticket distribution on both the primary and secondary markets. For starters, transactions can be checked on the blockchain and you can see if the same wallet is engaged in multiple transactions. 

Furthermore, as programmable digital assets, resale prices can be embedded into the ticket. So even if somebody buys numerous items, they won’t be able to sell them for a large profit.  You decide the upper and lower limits for which the event tickets can be resold. This way, you are protecting your attendees from those looking to make quick money from their passion.

Royalties and access to the secondary market

With an NFT ticket, you can even get access to the secondary market income. The smart contract of the NFT can be pre-programmed so that a specific cut from every resale is sent back to its issuer. 

Known under the name of Royalties, this benefit allows event organizers and artists to get paid for their work long after the event has taken place. Especially as NFT tickets are digital collectibles that don’t lose their value once the gig is over.

NFT tickets have collectible value

Photo by Dylan Mullins on Unsplash

Event tickets are very interesting items for collectors and they would often pay small fortunes to get their hands on them. Until now, it was extremely difficult to check the authenticity of a ticket. Especially long after the event was over. But the nature of an NFT ticket makes this process extremely transparent. The authenticity of the NFT, as well as its ownership and entire transaction history, can be checked, protecting the buyer against fraudsters and increasing the value of the item.

An NFT ticket protects your community from scammers

One of the downsides of electronic tickets is that they can be forged. And while you may prevent somebody from entering the event premises with a false ticket, it’s impossible to stop scammers from selling false tickets. Or to (re) sell the same ticket to tens or hundreds of honest buyers. One of the biggest problems buyers are currently facing is checking the authenticity of tickets bought from secondary markets. As event tickets come in limited editions. And after a certain period of time, they become available only at resale. Once an event is sold out, people are willing to pay extra just to get the opportunity to attend the event. But they often become victims of scammers that:

  1. Sell fake tickets.
  2. Sell the same authentic ticket more than once.

But as the authenticity of an NFT ticket can be verified on the blockchain network, the same ticket cannot be sold by two people at the same time. It also eliminates the possibility of creating fake tickets, making transactions from secondary markets as safe as the ones operated by the event organizer, thus protecting your community.

The nature of the ticket also makes it almost impossible to lose it. It’s stored in a digital wallet and can be easily accessed by its rightful owner. 

Create immersive experiences with NFT Tickets. Offline and online

Using digital technology to enhance a live event is a perfect opportunity for the events industry. Your event attendees can get first access to future releases, online shows, merchandise, and even digital artwork by purchasing an NFT ticket. Possibilities are endless as these smart assets are governed by programmable smart contracts. 

But as we were mentioning before, these digital assets can be used to represent both physical and digital assets. Merchandise can be easily prepacked within an NFT event ticket and claimed whenever your attendee finds it suitable. 

Is there anything else an NFT ticket can be? Yes, an NFT ticket can be even a payment tool used at your event. It can be programmed to store a monetary value that can be used at your events or throughout entire networks of partners.

Final words

While the scope of this article is to explain what an NFT ticket is, we are sure that it won’t take long before all tickets are going to be NFT tickets. The benefits powered by this technology are transforming the industry, making it safer and more profitable for those creating these experiences.

Furthermore, despite the technical complexity that stands behind them, NFT tickets are extremely easy to use. For issuers and buyers alike. With Oveit, you don’t need any technical know-how. It’s easy to set up your event and start selling NFT tickets. While we are taking care of all the technical aspects of the process, you can focus on creating the experiences everybody will talk about.

December 6, 2022 NFT ticketing No comments yet