Ticketmaster has launched Safetix, its anti-counterfeit ticketing technology, at festivals for the first time.

Following the March rollout in venues in the UK and Ireland, SafeTix launched this summer at festivals including Isle of Wight, Parklife, BBC Radio 1’s Biggest Weekend and TRNSMT.

The technology links a fan’s digital ticket to their Ticketmaster account through an encrypted barcode that automatically refreshes every few seconds, preventing resellers from exploiting screenshots or photocopies of tickets to sell them multiple times.

The tickets also include NFC (Near Field Communication) technology that allows fans to enter venues through a simple “tap and go” experience at venue entrances.

“We used to have so many fans turn up with fake tickets they purchased at ridiculous prices from unofficial secondary sites”

Four million SafeTix have been scanned at numerous festivals and in 100 venues across the UK and Ireland since March.

“We used Ticketmaster’s SafeTix at our sell-out Arctic Monkeys and Muse shows with great success,” says Geoff Ellis, CEO of DF Concerts.

“We used to have so many fans turn up with fake tickets they purchased at ridiculous prices from unofficial secondary sites, only to be turned away. The SafeTix technology has completely eliminated this issue, with a barcode that constantly updates and cannot be screenshot.”

SafeTix was initially launched in North American venues in 2019 and has since been rolled out in Australia, New Zealand and Mexico. Globally, Ticketmaster scanned more than 20 million SafeTix in July alone.

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