eTechSuite Systems Integration Manager shaun daws looks at how Web3 could transform the events industry:

Web3 is the next evolution of the Internet and has been slowly building below the surface for years.

Based on blockchain technology and emphasizing privacy and decentralization, this new internet has the potential to disrupt entire industries. The events industry is one of those feeling the early effects of Web3 adoption and the potential for major changes in the way events are organized and delivered is enormous.

web: a definition

First, let’s take a step back and define Web3: Web3 is considered the third evolution of the Internet. What started out as simple, static web pages in the late 20th century (Web1), soon evolved into the data-driven ecosystem that is today’s modern Internet (Web2).

With a massive increase in privacy violations and the centralization of control and money in companies like Google and Facebook, alternatives have been sought to increase the democratic aspects of the World Wide Web, while providing more privacy and freedom to its users. . Enter Web3.

Web3 is built on blockchain technology, which is the basis for increasingly popular inventions such as cryptocurrencies and NFTs, components that sit on top of the Web3 platform. However, there are also many other lesser-known Web3-based technologies, such as Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) and Decentralized Applications (dApps). These tools use a Web3 technology called smart contracts to automate administrative processes and reduce the friction involved in complex transactions such as loans, voting, and currency exchanges. What does this have to do with the events industry?

Privacy

More and more, we see news about large organizations that have lost their user data due to a privacy breach or hack. Companies spend billions of dollars each year to defend against a constant barrage of attacks, while trying to adhere to increasingly strict privacy laws. Despite this, Internet users are still forced to exchange their personal information to access services, at the risk of identity fraud and loss of privacy.

In a Web3 world, many of these problems can be eliminated. Web3 is built using strong encryption, which is used at the most fundamental levels to provide privacy and security for its users. Users create a single account, called a Wallet, which allows them to keep all their personal information in one place and provide that information to whom they choose, under what conditions, and for how long they choose. The data provided is not stored externally, which greatly reduces the risk of being caught in a data breach and limits other unintended consequences, such as the sale of personal information to third parties.

For event companies dealing with large amounts of personal data that needs to be kept up to date and often reused, this can be beneficial as it means easier and more reliable access to delegates who want to be contacted.

Ticket Sales

Ticketing and registration are arguably areas that are likely to see the most changes in the near future. There are several significant issues with the status quo for ticketing, including loss or damage to physical tickets, resale/promotion, and access control. Changes made during the pandemic have skyrocketed the ticketing industry with digital tickets and QR codes, but even they have similar limitations. Many of these limitations can be alleviated through the use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Now, NFTs are mostly seen as low-quality images that celebrities sell for millions of dollars, however this niche usage only scratches the surface of what they can be used for. NFTs are a way to uniquely identify any digital asset, allowing it to be used in many creative ways.

An example of an event that uses NFT to its fullest is Coachella. Starting this year, this premium concert event uses NFT as its primary ticketing method. Concertgoers can purchase NFTs online, which can be used to record attendance, provide various levels of access, and even contain hidden prizes within them that can be accessed after purchase. Not only that, but the NFT tickets themselves are artistically designed and are likely to retain their value as a collector’s item well into the future.

Beyond these benefits, NFTs can include built-in features to ensure royalties are paid on every sale, even if sold to someone else. Because NFTs use smart contract technology, instructions can be incorporated that ensure that a percentage of each sale, even those made after the initial purchase, is paid directly to the artist or organizer.

The use of NFTs has greatly simplified ticketing logistics, provided unique added value, and become an additional revenue stream that standard ticketing cannot match.

Loan

Ticketing lends itself perfectly to Web3, but replicating existing ticketing is just one small piece of the puzzle. The organizers of a recent Lewis Capaldi event in Iceland leveraged NFT tickets to get loans for the event itself.

Prior to the event, the organizers demanded a substantial booking fee to secure the venue. To guarantee the loan, a Web3 company known as GET Protocol was contracted to arrange a loan that would be paid instantly via a smart contract as each ticket was sold. This method ensured timely repayment of the loan and collateral to the lender. Each ticket sold also improved the borrower’s credit score with the lender, which in turn makes assessing their level of risk easier and more accurate for future lending.

Incorporating an automatic payment system into the tickets greatly reduces the cost and time to process and repay the loans, which in turn helps both the organizer and the lender.

collaborative events

It is a challenge to create an event that attracts the maximum number of people within a target audience, especially for large events with audiences all over the world. There are often many conflicting opinions, cultural and financial differences, and other logistical challenges. These are usually resolved by allowing a handful of people to make decisions for the set, trying to best guess their path to a successful event.

A Web3 alternative to this method would be to create a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO), a collection of people who collectively raise issues and vote on them, using blockchain tokens to tally the votes. The number of tokens each person owns can usually be allocated through purchase or in exchange for some other form of commitment, such as volunteering for the cause.

In 2021, a DAO was used in an attempt to purchase a copy of the United States Constitution. ConstitutionDAO was a collection of disparate people from around the world who wanted to be part of the deal. Together they raised more than $47 million in Ethereum cryptocurrency and bid on the document at Sotheby’s auction.

Although they were passed, the refund clause of the smart contract used was enacted to automatically refund all contributors.

It may not be long before event managers are hosting events on behalf of a DAO as a regular part of their business.

Despite more than a decade of development, Web3 is still in its infancy and accounts for a small percentage of all Internet-related employment. However, Web3 technologies are experiencing growth that dwarfs that seen during the adoption of the early Internet and shows no signs of slowing down.

Both Web3 and the events industry are geared towards encouraging community participation. This intersection of purposes is what makes Web3 a key technology that could transform the way events are planned, managed, and delivered.

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