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Tessitura Network teams up with blockchain-based True Tickets

Contactless digital ticketing service True Tickets has partnered with the Tessitura Network to offer its services to more than 700 not-for-profit arts and cultural institutions.

Under the agreement, Tessitura, which is a CRM system that powers fundraising, memberships, ticketing, and marketing for museums, performing arts organisations, and other cultural, and attraction-based entities, will see its clients have the ability to increase their control of ticketing from the secondary market.

It will also help clients to analyse individual patron behaviour, as well as support them to take steps to reopen safely following COVID-19 shutdowns.

True Tickets, a Boston-headquartered blockchain-based service, allows venues to implement new health and safety measures as they prepare to reopen. Contactless digital ticketing enables venues to bypass the box office and remotely issue tickets, minimise interactions between staff and patrons, and open lines of communication if events need to be rescheduled.

Jack Rubin, chief executive and co-founder of Tessitura Network, said: “True Tickets addresses some of the most persistent challenges facing performing arts venues, as well as some of the newest. Tessitura has built-in mobile ticketing options, but we recognised that True Tickets’ Blockchain capabilities enhance those capabilities and provide our member organisations with more options for exceptional customer service.

“Prior to the pandemic, True Tickets’ value in improving how theatres can better connect with their patrons was clear. Now the benefit is even greater as venues look for opportunities to safely reopen in the future and ensure that they know who is entering their venues.”

True Tickets will be integrated with the Tessitura platform, allowing venues to take advantage of contactless digital ticketing, enabled by the IBM Blockchain, without needing to overhaul their current ticketing system. Venues will also gain more control over their tickets, from managing secondary markets and eliminating fraud to gaining better visibility over who uses each ticket.

Matt Zarracina, founder and chief executive of True Tickets, added: “Tessitura is the market leader in not-for-profit arts ticketing, and this partnership will only cement that status. Theatres and other venues have a lot to deal with as they plan to reopen, but ticketing doesn’t need to be another headache. Our goal is to help our partners quickly and effectively adapt their ticketing for a post-COVID world so they can focus on their other reopening needs.”

The partnership is the result of a two-year collaborative effort, growing from a relationship with a Tessitura member venue, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County.

Nicole Keating, assistant vice-president, business intelligence at the Arsht Center, said: “While our work with True Tickets began as an initiative to keep tickets in the hands of our community and out of the hands of brokers, their mobile ticketing solution is, now more than ever, a critical component of our safety protocols.

“The True Tickets service will also support ticket forwarding, allowing us to communicate with all guests about event changes and other updates. Ticketing can make the difference between a memorable experience and a disappointing one. The partnership with True Tickets is a major step forward in continuing our tradition of connecting our community through the live performing arts.”