Singer-guitarist John Mayer will use paperless tickets for premium seats for some shows on his upcoming arena tour, the popular songwriter announced this week in an email to fans who have signed up for his fan club.
Mayer is the latest artist to use the system, following the likes of Miley Cyrus and Bruce Springsteen, but how it will be received by fans is unknown. While some venues have reported no problems with the paperless system, many fans and ticket brokers have taken to the Internet to complain about the lack of transferability of paperless tickets, and the delays in entering arenas.
The paperless ticketing system Mayer and the other artists are using is implemented by Ticketmaster Entertainment, and it is a central part of the company’s strategy to combat the ticket resale business, though Mayer makes clear in his announcement that fans can use Ticketmaster’s exclusive TicketExchange site to resell tickets they can’t use for face value:
At most of the arena tour dates, the best seat locations will use Paperless Ticket delivery option only. Paperless ticketing is an alternative delivery method to Ticketfast, Mail, UPS, Will Call or In Store Pick Up. Instead of receiving your tickets ahead of the event, the credit card used to make the purchase will serve as your ticket, similar to an airline e-ticket. All a fan needs to attend the concert is the credit card they used to purchase the ticket and their valid, government-issued ID (such as a driver’s license, state ID or passport). All members of the ticket purchaser’s party must be present at the same time to enter the venue. The venue’s ticket usher will swipe their credit card upon entry and present each person in their party with seat locator slips for quick access into the show.
Paperless tickets are non-transferable, however fans unable to attend the event will have an opportunity to post their tickets for sale on TicketExchange for the face value price.
The first show listed on Mayer’s Web site that will use paperless tickets is scheduled for Toronto on November 24. While not all shows will use the paperless system, more than three dozen shows will have paperless tickets for premium seats.
Representatives for Mayer did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
