Muse go paperless for intimate UK gigs

On Monday 23^rd March, Muse hit the Brighton Dome for the final show of their Psycho tour, in anticipation of the release of their new album Drones on 8^th June.

Consisting of only six dates, the Psycho tour saw the three-piece hitting far smaller venues than the stadiums they’ve become accustomed to, so unsurprisingly demand was extremely high!

However, thanks to paperless ticketing, the band ensured that tickets were delivered directly into the hands of real fans for the group’s triumphant return.

Paperless ticketing was pioneered and developed by Ticketmaster in 2009, as a direct response to artists’ requests to stop the resale of their tickets, and is a proven way of getting tickets directly into the hands of genuine fans whilst ensuring they pay the price intended by the artist – and not a penny more.

When purchasing a ticket like this, fans are not issued with a traditional paper ticket; instead, they are simply asked to present their confirmation of booking (booking reference number), the credit or debit card used to make the purchase and a form of photo ID (passport or driving license) in order to gain entry to the event. Obviously this means there is no easy way of transferring the ticket to someone else and so strictly limits the potential of ticket resale.

The point of Paperless is that tickets are only sold at the price set and to people who really want them, which was certainly the case at Manchester Academy 1, where the band played on Sunday night. Tickets sold out in less than ten minutes, with fans travelling from as far as New Zealand, Australia, China and South America, and queuing more than 24 hours before the performance, just to ensure they were among the first of the 2,500 strong audience to enter the venue on the night.

Kieran Faulkner, Manager of Manchester Academy 1, said: “There was an immense amount of planning and preparation that preceded this event, but without a competent and professional team we couldn’t have pulled it off. Showsec (security) were faultless and worked seamlessly hand-in-hand with both our house staff and the Ticketmaster team to ensure a fast, safe entry and a positive customer experience.”

Andy Copping, Muse’s promoter at Live Nation, said “Muse’s live show is unrivalled and these dates have reminded everyone why they’re one of biggest bands in the world right now.

Paperless ticketing allowed us to make sure that only genuine fans had access to these intimate concerts, and the fact that they were so successful and ran so smoothly is a testament to everyone involved. With Drones’ imminent release, the Psycho Tour is only the beginning.”