The Whole Network is Howling: Can’t Get Jay Chou Tickets, Why Not Use NFT?
Today, major communities are either competing to get Jay Chou tickets or hunting for NFTs, as Jay Chou, the Asian King, will be performing at the “Carnival” world tour concert from December 5th to 8th at the Taipei Dome.
After a seven-year hiatus from performing in Taiwan, Jay Chou’s concert has caused a frenzy among Taiwanese fans. According to official statistics, a record-breaking 890,000 people were online at the same time trying to purchase tickets, and nearly 150,000 tickets were sold out within 5 minutes. Many Jay Chou fans in the cryptocurrency community lamented, “Can’t get any! Why not use NFT?” “I can’t understand why the ticketing system still doesn’t use NFT ticketing technology,” “All the tickets were snatched by scalpers.” Even the office of “Crypto City” sparked a discussion.
But can the introduction of NFTs really solve the ticketing and scalping problems? Japanese ticketing platform operators wrote a post at the end of last year (2023), explaining why NFT tickets cannot effectively prevent scalping!
Are NFT tickets ineffective in preventing scalping? Japanese operators point out the key blind spots!
You may have come across the following argument: “NFT concert tickets can prevent scalping” because blockchain has the characteristics of being unalterable and tamper-proof. However, Japanese digital entertainment startup Playground and electronic ticketing platform MOALA founder Keiji Ito poured cold water on this: “The claim that NFT tickets can effectively prevent scalping is false. Why?”
The outside world believes that NFT tickets can prevent scalping mainly because blockchain can record the circulation of data. But Ito pointed out that even without using blockchain technology, the existing centralized ticketing systems can record the circulation of tickets and even prevent unauthorized ticket transfers.
Reasons why NFT tickets cannot prevent scalping: Scalpers operate offline
Ito pointed out that the reason why NFT tickets cannot prevent scalping is that scalping activities mainly occur offline rather than online. In such cases, when the operator sells tickets (physical or digital), scalpers can still illegally sell tickets using paper tickets, screenshots, or mobile devices.
These offline activities cannot be recorded by the ticketing system. Therefore, even if the method of recording tickets is moved from centralized servers to the blockchain, it cannot eliminate scalping.
In terms of measures to prevent scalping, electronic ticketing technology companies are currently discussing “facial recognition,” “digital stamps on mobile phones,” and “animated QR codes.” They do not consider blockchain technology as a real solution.
Ito lamented, “It is inevitable to have misunderstandings in the early stages of technology due to lack of knowledge. But if the wrong understanding spreads widely, it will actually overlook the true value of NFT tickets, which is a pity.”
The essence of NFT tickets: Creating a common circulation facility for tickets
Ito pointed out that the biggest feature of NFT tickets is their high liquidity. The system structures of various electronic ticketing platforms are different, and if they need to be transferred to other platforms, manual processing by other platforms is required.
However, if NFT tickets are widely adopted in the future and each ticketing platform uses the same blockchain to issue NFT tickets, it can be expected to greatly reduce manpower and address labor shortages and labor issues in the entertainment industry. Ito believes that this is the biggest advantage of NFT tickets.
He pointed out that the biggest challenge in achieving this advantage is how to keep the pace of various ticketing platforms consistent. Since the attention to blockchain technology, not only the electronic ticketing industry, but everyone wants to establish a common circulation facility. However, there is currently no company that can break through this barrier.
Creating a common circulation facility is a major project. Although it cannot generate benefits in a short period of time, if successful, it can bring far-reaching impact and have extraordinary significance for the entertainment industry and the Web3 industry.
If NFT tickets cannot prevent scalping, what is their use?
If NFT tickets cannot eliminate scalping, what is their use? Ito suggests that they can be developed in the direction of “recording memories” to further promote their popularity.
After watching an exciting concert, exhibition, or movie, when users want to remember or share it on social media, paper tickets are still the preferred choice for many users. As an electronic ticketing operator, Ito often receives feedback from users saying, “Electronic tickets don’t have a physical copy, and it feels empty.”
But if tickets go completely digital in the future, how can users record memories? This is where NFT can come in handy.
Ito pointed out that by issuing “attendance proof NFTs,” also known as NFT ticket stubs, electronic means can be used to conveniently allow users to remember various activities they attended using electronic tickets.
Last year, the Japan Expo in Osaka sold NFT tickets for the first time, priced at 2,000 yen, and used Soul-Bound Tokens (SBT) for issuance. When SBT is transferred to 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 control of the wallet to other buyers through offline transactions. Currently, there is no way to conduct comprehensive identity authentication (KYC) on the chain, and excessive real-name registration may also cause backlash from cryptocurrency users, as one of the characteristics of blockchain is “anonymity.”
Nevertheless, with more and more institutions attempting to issue NFT tickets, Ito still sees the potential for development in the electronic ticketing industry.
Ito stated that although NFT tickets have attracted attention since the early stages of blockchain development, they have not been widely and continuously utilized, just like other blockchain applications. Even so, NFT is still a solution worth paying attention to, especially in the ticket market where paper tickets still hold over half of the market share.
This article is authorized for reposting from Crypto City.