Music Festival Ticketing Innovations. 

Ticketing platforms for the events industry have been streamlined into a seamless process based on technology that enables electronic payments and the production of digital tickets. Sales revenue is collected and easily distributed to appropriate parties. These technology platforms are evolving allowing festival organisers to provide a better service in a more cost-effective manner. 

Advances in technology in the ticketing sector is potentially enabling event organisers to offer enhanced services to ticket buyers in a more efficient way. What aspects of ticketing platform technology is changing and what are the opportunities festival organisers can exploit now and in the near future? 

Emerging Technological Developments. 
Use of blockchain and NFT tech has been a topic of discussion for some time and if thoughtfully implemented can help to reduce fraud. Every ticket could be assigned a unique digital signature, making it nearly impossible to counterfeit or duplicate. If tickets are issued as NFTs (non-fungible tokens) built on blockchain technology it provides a secure and tamper-proof way to track ticket ownership, reducing the risk of fraud and scalping. This has applications for companies developing ticketing resale platforms because it ensures that tickets are fairly priced with rightful ownership transfer. Another area of emerging technology is wider use of biometrics, either facial recognition or fingerprint scanning which can be used at festival entrance gates to verify ticket purchase and could eliminate the need for digital tickets further streamlining the entry process. 

Personalisation and Pricing. 
If ticketing platforms have collected sufficient data on ticket buyers, they could start to offer more personalised recommendations for event tickets based on music genre preferences and location for example. Some ticketing platforms are starting to offer dynamic pricing as part of their offer to festival organisers. Utilising AI and data analytics with set parameters  organisers could control ticket prices based on supply and demand automatically without the need for manual adjustments. 

Sustainability. 
This remains a hot topic for all festival organisers and as a minimum ticketing platforms should be offering digital tickets to avoid the printing of physical paper tickets. Ticketing platforms are now offering organisers the option to add ‘green’ ticketing fees to the purchase price which can be part of an offset programme of other initiative. Most festivals have moved towards cashless payment schemes for festival-goers on site using wristbands. Ticketing platforms can usually offer schemes that allow event ticket buyers to load up a personalised cashless wristband prior to the event. 

There are a wide variety of ticketing platforms available for music festival organisers to consider using for their events. The commission charges can vary enormously and is often the driving force behind a choosing a particular ticketing platform. It is probably prudent to also ask potential ticketing providers what technology they are developing which could include all or some of the above. 

For festival organisers planning their events using a software management platform like Festival Pro gives them all the functionality they need manage every aspect of their event logistics including a dedicated ticketing platform. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The Festival Pro platform is easy to use and has comprehensive features with specific modules for managing artists, contractors, venues/stages, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, guestlists, ticketing, cashless payments and contactless ordering. 

Image by Tumisu via Pixabay

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