Paperless tickets were designed for fans by Ticketmaster in
hopes to cut down on ticket scalpers and allow fans the opportunity to purchase
tickets for a fair price. Since the creation of paperless tickets, many artists,
such as Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Michael Bublé and Eric Church, have decided
to make all tickets to their concerts paperless.
Eric Church openly expressed the difficulty of fighting with
ticket scalpers during a 2014 interview with Radio.com. After nearly 1,000 of
his tickets were purchased by scalpers, Church took action and canceled orders where
scalpers were selling the tickets for $800-$900.
The reality, however, is that people have been scalping for
a long time—altering their approach to modernize the way they make
profits. Recent technology has provided
faster ways to get tickets, including automated computer software programs,
which allow tickets to be purchased at large quantities. Along with this, we
see the issues of pricing becoming unaffordable for fans and the risk of false
tickets being sold, all issues that venues, music artists, and promoters have
been trying to cut down on. ABC News had even covered a story in 2014 on ticket scalpers, false tickets, and the effects they have on fans.
Paperless ticketing is an alternative method of purchasing
tickets and continuing to gain access to the shows you want to attend. Instead
of receiving your tickets ahead of the event, you will need to bring the credit
card you used to purchase the ticket and a valid, government-issued ID (such as
a driver's license, state ID or passport) to the event. When you arrive at the
venue, simply show the ticket taker your credit card and ID. The ticket taker
will swipe your credit card and a seat locator slip for each ticket will be
printed off.
Now you’re probably asking yourself, what if I purchased
tickets as a gift and don’t plan on attending the show? You will have to
accompany them to the venue and show your credit card and ID to gain them
access into the event.
For any other questions and concerns or if you’d just like
to learn more about paperless tickets, click here
