Tickets have been associated with NFTs but have been largely untapped from some of the major conglomerates in the ticketing business to date. Ticketmaster could be looking to really get in the mix, however, with a renewed effort this week; Ticketmaster and Dapper Labs, creators and operators of the Flow blockchain, announced a partnership to spur growth in live event NFTs.

Ticketing is often cited among NFT advocates as one of the top potential use cases among NFTs beyond jpegs. Can ticketing unlock the next level of utility? A dominant powerhouse like Ticketmaster will be as strong as an advocate as humanly possible in the category. Let’s take a look at what we know from the newly budded partnership.

Ticketmaster, which is owned by live event leader Live Nation, is showing more major strides into pursuing NFT engagement with this latest Dapper Labs partnership. To date, Ticketmaster has utilized Flow for a one-time digital asset airdrop for Super Bowl ticket holders, and has also explored the space with Polygon (MATIC) for an NFT earlier last NFL season. Elsewhere, emerging platforms have sought to challenge the Ticketmaster stranglehold, exploring the likes of blockchain-powered dynamic tickets, royalty-included tickets (that can put secondary sales profits back in the hands of the artist, team or promoter), and more.

The press release cites a desire to pursue “digital keepsakes – that can be shared online or activated to access unique loyalty rewards, VIP engagement opportunities and more.” This suggests a more ‘digital collectible’ approach, that many hope will help spur a broader ticketing approach, too.

The partnership is another notch on the belt for Dapper Labs, who continues it’s tear of top-tier partners across sports and entertainment. Dapper Labs made it’s way to multi-billion dollar valuation on the back of it’s flagship NFT marketplace product, Top Shot. It has since expanded beyond just the NBA & WNBA partnership, and taken it’s case study to other major leagues across some of the biggest sports, including the UFC, NFL, and La Liga.

Expansion into non-sport ticketing NFTs is a natural next step for Dapper, and offers a major step forward for it’s Flow product to prove it’s ability to handle another level of new volume and a new echelon of utility.

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