This music venue has just introduced ‘scalper-proof’ tickets
As the industry continues to look for a solution to rising ticket scalping, London’s Islington Assembly Hall believes it has an answer to the problem as it shifts to a digital-only, mobile-based ticketing system that can, in theory, wipe out scalping.
As NME reports, the 800-cap venue has adopted the app-based ticketing system DICE, making it the first in the country to do so. Tickets are sold through the app alone, and need to be presented in the app upon entry, meaning that they can’t be hosted on resale facilities or flogged by scalpers.
Rather than finding a way to sell unwanted or excess tickets on to other people (potentially at inflated prices), ticket-holders are able to refund their tickets right up to shortly before the gig starts – while this would potentially leave the venue or artists out of pocket in the case of a barrage of last-minute refunds, that seems an unlikely situation.
In addition to ticketing, the app also sends ticket-holders updates on set times and support acts, making for an all-in-one option for gig-goers who are tired of hunting for tickets and begging for set times on event pages.
DICE has been in the works since 2014, but this first adoption in the U.K. will provide a good test for the potential of a non-transferable, app-based ticketing solution in similar venues in Australia.
“We’re so excited to be working with DICE and to be leading the way as a music venue offering mobile-first tickets,” says the venue’s business manager Lucinda Brown. “Through this partnership, we are making a stand against touts and allowing fans to have more control.”
Locally, Vance Joy has just partnered up with face-value, fan-to-fan resale platform Twickets, which opened up this May and hopes to provide its own solution to the problem, allowing fans to express interest in a gig and receive mobile alerts when tickets are offered up for resale.
This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.