How Does Smart Ticketing Work and How Is It Different From Traditional Ticketing?
The traditional live music ticketing system is broken. Read on to find out how GIGCO is providing a smart solution to the problem of traditional ticketing.
The pandemic taught us that music is a community experience, and nothing beats the intimacy of a live performance. Remote at-home listening on streaming services nearly doubled during lockdown, yet a survey of the UK found that public appetite for live music is as healthy as ever. Two-thirds of those surveyed said they’d be going to as many, if not more, gigs or festivals after lockdown, while nearly half the public expressed concern that their local venues would be forced to close for good. Over one-third of all jobs in the UK music industry were lost.
The world needs live music now more than ever. Rather than papering over cracks that threaten to sink the live sector as we know it, we’re reestablishing the rules of the music industry.
Trust and transparency with smart technology
As part of our commitment to boosting recovery in the live music industry post-pandemic, we’re creating a smart (contract) solution to the problem of traditional ticketing systems. The GIGCO ecosystem utilizes blockchain technology to remove middlemen from the process of ticketing, merchandise, and music sales.
A huge advantage the new world of web3 gives us is we can leverage blockchain technology to ensure that GIGCO provides the music community with a platform based on trust. After all, the cornerstone of any healthy community is trust and transparency, two qualities lacking in the traditional music industry.
From dodgy record deals that exploit aspiring artists to third party resellers that charge fans inflated rates for tickets to sold-out shows, the music industry has been built around obscurity and deception. That’s why we’re providing a solution that uses web3 and blockchain technology to build trust and transparency into the music industry.
What is “proof-of-attendance” and why does it matter?
Proof-of-work and proof-of-stake are consensus mechanisms that ensure security on the blockchain and determine user legitimacy when making transactions on decentralized exchanges. We’re using a similar system: “proof-of-attendance” (PoA) which acts as a multi-functional security mechanism that upholds the GIGCO all-in-one application.
PoA is a protocol that utilizes NFT blockchain technology to provide you with a unique code, or digital badge, as proof that you attended a specific event. As a measure of user reliability, it ensures that the GIGCO community is built on a secure foundation of trust.
PoA is the primary tool for verifying live music reviews, upholding loyalty reward programs, and preventing ticket scalping. It’s a feature of blockchain technology that holds unique value when it comes to problem-solving in the music industry.
Rewarding the community with PoA
PoA protects against fraud too. Fans receive extra benefits through the app when venues and artists choose to reward them for their loyalty, so PoA prevents individuals from falsely claiming those benefits.
These rewards are exclusive to the NFT holder and can include lifetime discounts on future shows by certain bands or at that venue, discounts on the band’s and venue’s merchandise, and access to members-only fan content. We’re implementing an incentivized token economy model that rewards active participation in the GIGCO community. Through a “write a review; earn a reward” system, people who write reviews of bands they’ve seen or venues they’ve attended earn GIG tokens as a reward.
The PoA feature authenticates lived experience to prevent fraudulent reviews, protect review legitimacy, and guarantee the sustainability of the GIGCO ecosystem.
Out with the ticket touts and making ticketing fair for all
Protecting against ticket touting and fraud is a key part of the GIGCO mission. Secondary ticketing sites harvest tickets, buying them up from primary sellers to sell on for inflated prices. A major aim of using PoA is to eliminate third parties exploiting fans and taking huge portions of revenue away from artists and venues.
We’re leaving the dishonest practices of StubHub and Viagogo in the rear-view and paving the way for the future of live music. For too long, music touts have been capitalizing on the public’s love of live music with a profit-maximizing model that’s not designed with music fans’ best interests in mind. In some cases, the only option is two or even three times the original asking price. Loyal fans shouldn’t be forced to pay extortionate prices imposed by third parties in order to see their favorite artists. Plus, on secondary markets, consumer protection measures are weak or non-existent and buyers are often poorly protected against purchasing duplicate or counterfeit tickets.
Through smart contracts and PoA, ticket sellers can prevent touts by tracing the ownership history of a ticket from the purchaser to any third parties and right through to the person who attended the event.
GIG Dividend
We’re introducing ‘Gig-Dividend’, a new concept for ticket purchasing that disincentivizes scalpers by drastically reducing the profitability of resales.
Gig-Dividend uses the price of the original ticket sale to calculate the profit made when tickets are resold for a premium. A percentage of the extra money made from the resale then gets shared back to fans in the form of credit that can be spent on merchandise sold by the artist they went to see. The system utilizes PoA to ensure that rewards are dealt to those who were actually in attendance.
Gig-Dividend supports artists in the form of free promotion while rewarding fans for their loyalty, so both parties see the benefit of cutting out the middlemen. Encouraging a continual flow of revenue between artists and fans makes a career in music more viable and profitable for aspiring musicians, while at the same time it makes reselling less desirable.
We’re also developing pricing policies and a low fee structure that returns high profits for venues and artists and charges fans low ticket prices thanks to our direct system.
“I was there when…”
Whether you’re reminiscing over Daft Punk’s legendary 2006 Coachella headliner or Oasis’s infamous Knebworth sets, music-loving concert goers are fond of the phrase “I was there when…”. It’s a testament to the power of live music that these stories are ever more valuable as they’re revisited in the years and decades after the event. Shoeboxes stacked atop shelves are filled with ticket stubs and memories of past life experiences.
Memorabilia is an aspect of concert attendance and music fandom that was overlooked when the industry rushed into the digital age and left physical ticket stubs behind. We’re minting the digital equivalent by replacing physical ticket stubs and promo posters with collectible music-related NFT ‘live stubs’ and promotional posters featuring unique artwork. NFT ticket stubs and promo posters record life experiences and are displayed in a Gallery on your unique Social Profile in the GIGCO app.
Rarity is attractive to investors and collectors alike. In the same way that rookie baseball cards can be sold for millions of dollars, collectible limited edition NFTs minted before a band hit it big could become highly sought-after collector items in years to come. Fans can trade, buy, sell, and collect NFTs to become stakeholders and share in the success of their favorite artists and venues.
A smart solution to traditional ticketing
The all-in-one GIGCO app uses blockchain technology to uphold a trustworthy booking protocol for artists, venues, and fans alike.
Proof-of-attendance is just one of many ways in which we’re using blockchain technology to realize our vision and bring trust and transparency back to the music industry. Our team share a vision of a more adaptable, fluid system for all aspects of the live music industry. We’re using web3 and new developments in emerging technologies to solve the problems that have plagued the music industry for decades.
We’re empowering the community with a one-stop application that puts music at the center of everything.
Learn more about GIGCO and upcoming events
Want to know more about all things GIGCO? Check out their social media channels below and join in the conversation:
Telegram announcements channel
Want to talk about working with us? Contact us via email info@gigco.com
