A lot has been written over the past day about how the late Steve Jobs changed industries and the way people interact with content and technology. Before his untimely passing October 5, one of the projects on his plate was to reshape the ticketing business.
In 2008, Apple reportedly applied for a patent for a digital concert ticketing system that the company would operate through its popular iTunes service.
Referred to as “Concert Ticket +,” the proposed paperless ticketing system would allow fans to purchase tickets using a mobile device, such as an iPhone or iPad, while they were on iTunes.
Details about the system were not disclosed, but it would also allow for the purchase of music and/or merchandise through iTunes at the same time. The initial patent paperwork was submitted in 2008, but news of the application did not surface until the Web site PatentlyApple.com first wrote about it in 2010.
To gain entry into an event, the fan would display their iPhone of other mobile device at the gate and an attendant would scan a barcode or a matrix-style QR, or Quick Response, code on the screen, something that several mobile device companies already allow. Apple currently utilizes a form of that with some airline apps.
In addition to the digital ticketing patent, in 2010 Apple bought the voice search company Siri, and it incorporated Siri’s technology into the newly launched iPhone 4S. One of the company’s that Siri partnered with is StubHub, so iPhone 4S users could ask the device about tickets for an event and the technology would list tickets on StubHub.
Apple has also partnered with Live Nation for ticketing through the iTunes Ping social network, where fans can find out concert information and buy tickets.
“See when artists are playing near you and see who else will be in the audience, too. Then click to buy tickets from Live Nation,” Apple said last year at the time of Ping’s launch.
Live Nation did not immediately reply to a message seeking comment about Jobs and Apple, but Nathan Hubbard, CEO of Live Nation’s ticketing division Ticketmaster, offered praise for the technology icon.
“He built the most creative technology company ever (Apple), and the most technological creative company ever (Pixar),” Hubbard wrote on his Twitter page.
