UK ticketing company Seat Unique is working with London’s Wembley Stadium to sell hospitality tickets for Taylor Swift’s tour. She returns to the stadium for five shows in August, following three there in June.
“It is probably the most popular event I’ve seen in 15 years,” says Robin Sherry, Seat Unique’s founder and chief executive.
The company specializes in allowing venues and artists to sell their tickets via dynamic pricing. What this means is that the price is allowed to go up, and down, according to demand.
The idea is that the venue and artists sell the tickets directly, and therefore get the additional income if prices rise, instead of that money going to sellers on the secondary market.
To set the dynamic price Seat Unique is now using AI to constantly monitor demand and automatically respond to it.
“It’s ultimately about keeping tickets in the hands of fans not scalpers,” says Mr Sherry, who also works with sports clubs and organisations.
He adds that AI also has the ability to transform the marketing of concerts and other events, with adverts specifically targeted at individuals based on learning what they are interested in.
“I always jokingly say, AI will know what events you want to go to before I do,” he adds, saying that this will be “revolutionary in an industry that has been slow to modernise”.
While AI is starting to change how we are able buy tickets to concerts and other events, it is also beginning to appear on the stage.
In November a new AI-powered hologram of Elvis Presley will be performing live in London.
The creator of the Elvis Evolution production, Andrew McGuiness, says the hologram is so lifelike that it will be “less like Abba Voyage and more like time travel”.
But whether AI will be the answer for fans like Jacki Thrapp remains to be seen. “This was the first time I’ve ever left America to see one of my favourite artists, but there has to be a better way to do this,” she says.
Both Seat Unique and Tixologi hope that better way will be delivered by advances in AI.
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