In-person events and fan experiences were back in a big way in 2022, with audiences craving unique and immersive experiences more than ever before.
Even with the return to in-person, however, digital engagement and virtual experiences remained top of mind for many creators and fans, and the continued adoption of web3 technology such as NFTs remained a strong theme in the entertainment industry throughout the year.
As we wind down 2022 and look forward to even more innovation and connection in 2023, XLIVE asked live entertainment professionals and event tech experts to share their top trend predictions for the coming year — here’s what they had to say:
NFT Ticketing Will Revolutionize Live Events
NFT ticketing is a new and exciting technology set to revolutionise how event tickets are sold and managed. Unlike traditional event tickets, which provide little control over the secondary market, NFT tickets are unique digital assets that are recorded on the blockchain. This means that they can be governed by smart contracts, letting event organisers set things like royalty splits and price ceilings on secondary sales. Their authenticity can also easily be verified thanks to the transparent nature of the blockchain.
By giving event organisers greater control over the sale and distribution of their tickets using smart contracts, they can reduce the impact of scalping and other unfair practices and ensure that tickets are distributed fairly and equitably among fans. In addition to providing greater security and control, NFT ticketing offers several other benefits. It can also provide a more personalised and engaging experience for fans as NFT collectables can be used to reward and connect with event-goers. Thanks to Web3 and NFT technology, we can provide event organisers with the tools they need to fight back against scalping, improve the experience for fans, and generate new revenue streams from secondary sales.
- Ryan Kenny, CEO, SeatlabNFT
Viewers Will Become Members
In 2023 and with the maturity of the use of NFTs for utility purposes, we are going to see the rise of NFT tokens being attributed to membership. Fans and followers are already being given the opportunity to own branded NFT and receive benefits attributed to their ownership. The rise of programmable membership NFT will drive experiential engagement.
- Joe Crossley, Technical and Creative Director, Dcentralize Festival
Fans Will Earn Rewards For Engagement
2022 was an interesting year in live music being the first real full year post pandemic. In 2023, we will see more community and fan engagement among promoters and their audiences.
Some major and minor producers are seeing the value in subscriptions or passes across multiple shows. Ticketmaster has provided venue passes or lawn passes for specific venues and in Austin, the Resound Sorted Pass is offering unlimited (non sold-out) shows for a single annual price. There has been a lean into providing single priced access to multiple shows over a specific period of time for specific venues. We, at festivalPass, agree that high frequency passionate live event fans should be rewarded for their engagement. This can come in the form of cost efficiency, special access, community and more. We are offering just this with our Lifetime Founders NFT (single price with live events for life) and non NFT annual subscriptions to reward engagement for being a member. We will see a lot more of this in 2023 as fans get fed up with transactional ticketing and want to be part of something that rewards them for participating.
- Ed Vincent, Founder & CEO, festivalpass
Immersive, Interactive Experiences Will Reign Supreme
The future of live entertainment, music or otherwise is participatory/interactive, think a rave combined with a James Turrel installation. This is driven by the need to make bigger and more unique spectacles and utilize new technologies (namely game engines and generative artificial intelligence), which make them more immersive, interactive and perpetually novel. We’ve already seen this in gaming and the influence this has on its ecosystem (egaming is a multi-billion-dollar industry).
What does this mean for entertainment in 2023?
Creative identity will become the fundamental unit of artistic expression; existing art forms like music will be further reduced to a component of it. Mixed reality will become its own artform with technology such as Volta becoming the paintbrush bringing this to life.Performances will take the form of immersive experiences in a variety of formats. Interaction and influence will become the role of the audience (and community more broadly) rather than passive consumption.
In-experience purchases (the ability for audience members to influence the content of an experience) will be the primary monetization strategy and could possibly replace ticket sales. (See Travis Scott in Fortnite and Lil Nas X who sold eight figures worth of digital merchandise during his Roblox sets, which is incredible and proves that there is scalable interest). New technology will democratise the making and distribution of music.
- Mitch Bayer-Goldman and Alex Kane, co-founders, Volta
The Metaverse Will Add Substantial Utility For Consumers and Businesses
The metaverse is no longer a strange word in our daily lives. Since Facebook’s rebranding back in 2021, a lot has been said about this new virtual realm and what it entails for consumers and businesses. The fact is that many of the platforms available today have fallen short in delivering true utility, which is reflected in poor active users and retention metrics even for popular players in the space, such as Decentraland and The Sandbox. Whether the world is expecting higher graphic quality, better gamification, or a more user-centric architecture in these virtual environments, the bottom line is that developers will be focusing on adding maximum value for their users and business partners with more practical, down-to-earth use cases for the metaverse and simplified onboardings that lower entry barriers and promote user acquisition.
When referring to the technologies that will be shaping the metaverse arena in 2023, I am going all in with artificial intelligence. With the recent launch of ChatGPT, the world witnessed the impressive capabilities of AI in helping people make informed decisions both at work and in their personal lives. At Sensorium, AI is already a core pillar of our metaverse. A powerful AI engine is deployed on every avatar to assist users in socializing and exploring the depths of our virtual worlds. AI has great potential to reduce social isolation in digital platforms and unleash new creative paths for consumers and established artists. For instance, enabling collaborations where generative music and real-world artists create original tracks. I believe the market is moving in this direction, and we’re already capitalizing on it.
- Sasha Tityanko, Deputy CEO & Art Director, Sensorium
Proof of Attendance Opens New Avenues For Fan Engagement
The emergence of blockchain technology in the events space will open new realms of experience for fans, with Proof of Attendance (POA) high on the list. Driven by NFT technology, POA allows fans to essentially collect ‘moments in time’, in the form of a free digital collectible that can only be acquired (through either geofencing or time-based gating) by being at an event, either in person or online. This becomes not only a badge of honour that’s immutable, almost like an indestructible ticket stub, it’s also a way for organisers to continue to reengage with fans who attended a specific event.
Imagine if Adele could (anonymously) identify everyone who was at her very first gig based on ownership of a POA digital asset, and invite them to her world tour? Or if an artist could give fans unique priority for their next event based on how many previous events they attended (proven through the number of POA collectibles they own). The possibilities are endless, and this trend will quickly begin to dominate the mainstream as fans and organisers alike realise that this changes everything!
- Charles Stanton, CMO, FORJ
An Embedded Consumer Experience Will Establish a Baseline For the Future of Web3
In 2023, blockchain adoption will happen to consumers and fans who might not be aware of what they are exactly purchasing or engaging with as far as an NFT token goes. Web3 and the blockchain ecosystem will become more inviting to users that don’t have a full grasp of how this technology operates. With that being said, the industry is going to witness an educational component in the onboarding process for new users, with seamless introductions such as easy wallet creation before entering a platform like my own, Dropolis.
In similar timing, artists and creators who’ve been in web3 and have released previous tokens will start to build true utility around those NFTs. You’ll start to see these groups focus on the long lasting benefits and impact these tokens can have.
- Stevie Hopkins, CEO, Dropolis
Authentic Brand Experiences Will Be Key
Big brands are going to reduce spending on sponsorships at trade shows. Smaller brands are going to start creating new traditions and when the economy returns in full, they will have taken up more market share than expected. Smaller brands are looking for something other than the big splash that trade show organizers are accustomed to. They want to meet real people in settings that allow them to build relationships that will become important for the long term. Less splash and more authentic experience.
- Dmitri Vietze, Founder/Director, Music Tectonics Conference
Artist-Centric Experiences Will Continue to Grow and Evolve
The pandemic accelerated an important trend: artist-centric experiences. First, it was intimate live streaming in 2020, artists from their living rooms to ours as we were all locked down. Next came live streaming platforms and artists performing in AR and VR, web and mobile streaming to fans around the world. 2021 kicked off a series of early Web3 initiatives around specialized music NFTs and artists performing as avatars in virtual worlds.
In our current world, most digital experiences have involved labels and publishers licensing their catalogs to platforms — but we are in the early stages of a new era when artists are leading the way and engaging with their fans with new creator tools, new underlying technologies, and new forms of creative expression. Web3, along with bridges between Web2 and Web3, promise great possibilities for new artist-centric business models, revenue streams, and fan experiences.
- Vickie Nauman, Founder, CrossBorderWorks