Decrypt: Ticketmaster Debuts Token-Gated Exclusive Ticket Sales With Avenged Sevenfold

Ticketmaster launched today their token-gated option to purchase exclusive ticket sales in collaboration with Avenged Sevenfold. M. Shadows spoke with Decrypt about the milestone as well as the band's upcoming plans to launch a token-gated loyalty program for all fans that would give access to tiered ticket passes.

During the purchasing process, Sanders said, Ticketmaster will prompt users to connect a wallet to verify ownership of one of the eligible NFTs. After that, it’s effectively the same buying process as usual, but with less competition fighting for a small pool of tickets. “It’s a normal process after that,” he said, “except without the 1,000-person queue and without the scalpers and the bots getting in there and taking everything right away.”

That’s why the band will soon launch an NFT-based loyalty program on Polygon that will let fans plug in a wallet and claim a free ticket pass. That pass will let fans tap into certain NFT-gated presales and other potential benefits, but anyone (even scalpers) can grab the free “Tier 1” pass. It’s just a starting point, however. Sanders said that the band will offer numerous ways for fans of the band to unlock additional NFTs that can be used to upgrade that pass for even more exclusive access and benefits.