The Whole Network Laments: Can’t Get Jay Chou Concert Tickets, Why Not Use NFT?
Today, major communities are either scrambling for Jay Chou or the Hunter, as Jay Chou, the Asian King of Pop, is set to perform his “Carnival” world tour concert at the Taipei Dome from December 5th to 8th.
After a seven-year hiatus from performing in Taiwan, the concert has caused a frenzy among Taiwanese fans. According to official statistics, there were 890,000 people simultaneously online trying to buy tickets, and nearly 150,000 tickets were sold out within 5 minutes. Many Jay Chou fans in the crypto community lamented, “Can’t get any! Why not use NFT?” “I don’t understand why ticketing systems still don’t use NFT ticketing technology,” “All the tickets were snatched by scalpers!” Even the office of “Crypto City” sparked a discussion.
However, can the introduction of NFT really solve the ticketing and scalping problems? A Japanese ticketing platform operator wrote an article at the end of last year (2023) explaining why NFT tickets cannot effectively prevent scalping!
NFT ticketing doesn’t prevent scalping? Japanese operators point out the key blind spot!
You may have come across the following argument: “NFT concert tickets can prevent scalping” because blockchain has the characteristics of immutability and anti-forgery. However, Japanese e-ticketing operators poured cold water on this: “The claim that NFT tickets can effectively prevent scalping” is false, why?
Keishi Ito, the founder of Japanese digital entertainment startup Playground and e-ticketing platform MOALA, wrote at the end of last year (2023), expressing his deep skepticism whenever he heard the claim that “NFT tickets can prevent scalping.”
The belief that NFT tickets can prevent scalping is mainly due to the fact that blockchain can record the circulation of data. However, Ito argues that even without using blockchain technology, the existing centralized ticketing systems can record the circulation of tickets and even prevent unauthorized ticket transfers.
Reason why NFT tickets cannot prevent scalping: scalping occurs offline
Ito points out that the reason NFT tickets cannot prevent scalping is that scalping primarily occurs offline rather than online. In such cases, when the operator sells tickets (physical or digital), scalpers can still sell tickets illegally using paper tickets, screen captures, or mobile devices.
These offline activities cannot be recorded by the ticketing system, so even if the method of recording tickets is moved from a centralized server to the blockchain, it cannot eliminate scalping.
In terms of measures to eliminate scalping, e-ticketing technology companies are currently discussing “facial recognition,” “digital seals on mobile devices,” and “dynamic QR codes.” They don’t really see blockchain technology as a real solution.
Ito laments, “It is inevitable to have misunderstandings due to a lack of knowledge during the early stages of a technology. But if the wrong perception becomes widely spread, it will overlook the true value of NFT tickets, which is a pity.”
The essence of NFT tickets: Creating a common circulation facility for tickets
Ito points out that the biggest feature of NFT tickets is their high liquidity. Currently, the system structures of various e-ticketing platforms are different, and if they need to be transferred to other platforms, manual processing by the other platforms is required.
However, if NFT tickets become popular in the future and every ticketing platform adopts the same blockchain to issue NFT tickets, it can be expected to greatly reduce manpower and solve labor shortage issues in the entertainment industry. Ito believes that this is the greatest advantage of NFT tickets.
He points out that the biggest challenge in achieving this advantage is how to keep the pace consistent among various ticketing platforms. Since the attention to blockchain technology, not only in the e-ticketing industry but also in other industries, everyone wants to establish a common circulation facility, but currently, no company has become a precedent to break this barrier.
Creating a common circulation facility is a big project. Although it cannot produce immediate benefits in a short period of time, if successful, it can have far-reaching impacts and have extraordinary significance for the entertainment industry and the Web3 industry.
If NFT tickets cannot prevent scalping, what other uses are there?
If NFT tickets cannot prevent scalping, what other uses are there? Ito suggests that they can further develop in the direction of “recording memories” to promote further adoption.
After watching an exciting concert, exhibition, or movie, when users want to reminisce or share on social media, paper tickets are still the preferred option for many users. As an e-ticketing operator, Ito often receives feedback from users saying, “Electronic tickets don’t have physical copies, and it feels empty.”
But if all tickets go fully electronic in the future, how can users record their memories? This is where NFT can come into play.
Ito points out that by issuing “attendance proof NFTs,” also known as NFT ticket stubs, memories of various events that users have attended using electronic tickets can be conveniently recorded in an electronic format.
Last year, the Osaka Expo in Japan sold NFT tickets for the first time, priced at 2,000 yen, and issued them in the form of Soul-Bound Tokens (SBT). Once SBT is deposited into the user’s cryptocurrency wallet, it cannot be resold or transferred to other users on the blockchain.
However, if scalpers are determined, they can still transfer wallet control to other buyers through offline transactions. Currently, there is no way to perform comprehensive identity authentication (KYC) on the blockchain, and excessive real-name registration may also cause dissatisfaction among cryptocurrency users because one of the characteristics of blockchain is “anonymity.”
However, with more and more institutions attempting to issue NFT tickets, Ito still sees the potential for development in the e-ticketing industry.
Ito says that although NFT tickets have been widely discussed since the dawn of blockchain, they have not been widely and continuously utilized, just like other blockchain applications. Nevertheless, NFT is still a solution worth paying attention to, especially in the ticket market where paper tickets still hold more than half of the market share.
This article is authorized to be reprinted from “Crypto City.”
