Ticketmaster Announces the Launch of Their ‘Token-Gated’ [NFT] Event Ticketing Feature

eTicketing giant ‘Ticketmaster’ recently announced that it would adopt the Flow blockchain from Dapper Labs to mint tickets as NFTs for select events, and it looks like the rollout starts this week. The NFTs will serve primarily as collectible digital memorabilia and as a POA “proof of attendance” badge, but possibilities are endless, and this is just the beginning for Ticketmaster.

Heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold first requested the tool to reward holders of its Deathbats Club NFT collection. Rewards can include presale access, specific seats, or custom travel packages. Avenged Sevenfold also plans to launch an NFT-based loyalty program on Polygon, allowing fans to plug in a wallet and claim a free ticket pass, letting them access certain NFT-gated presales and other potential benefits.

Ticketmaster developed the feature in partnership with Avenged Sevenfold and its Web3 team, Bitflips, which creates artist-centric NFT projects. David Marcus, Ticketmaster’s EVP of Global Music, said that linking to live shows creates a unique value and the token-gating feature is available to any artist with its own NFT collection or that has partnered with an NFT community.

Token-gated ticket sales are a new use case for the evolving technology powering digital collectibles. Within Web3 communities, NFTs have been used as access passes for digital spaces and live events alike, serving up perks for holders. Now, Ticketmaster may bring token-gating to a much larger audience with this feature, which lets artists offer unique access to concert and event tickets for eligible NFT owners.

According to M. Shadows, Avenged Sevenfold’s lead singer, holders of Deathbats NFTs “had the easiest experience I’ve ever seen for buying tickets.” Sanders, the band’s Web3 advocate, believes that token-gated ticket sales will become a powerful tool for reimagining fan engagement and loyalty rewards, but only if significant, entrenched companies get involved too.

We are excited to see Ticketmaster finally offering this feature to their users and are eager to see artists and creators we all love offering NFTs to their fans with minimal friction.