The show was great (our Product Owner Frans was there to confirm the greatness), and the ticketing went smooth.

Let’s hope for many more rockshows in the future!

Monopoly, anyone?

Viagogo, the favorite company of people who enjoy the terrible, dishonest and overpriced things in life, has made a major move this past month, buying ticket resale platform StubHub from Ebay.

The deal, worth $4 billion, instantly makes Viagogo the number one ticket reselling platform in North America, and gives it a massive amount of additional power in the global ticketing industry.

News of the deal was cause for a lot of push-back and concern, as Viagogo’s position grows and it seems to be getting away with murder.

Just a day before the news of the acquisition, it was announced that Google’s ban of aggressive Viagogo ads was lifted. The ads often mislead consumers into buying second hand tickets without knowing that original tickets were still on sale for way cheaper.

The ban, which was instated in July of this year, came with a clear statement from Google, saying they want to provide their users an honest experience, something which these ads do not do.

Within weeks it became clear just how effective this ban was, with visitor numbers to the resale platform dropping 80% in some countries.

But now, within two days, the ban has been lifted and the acquisition of StubHub is announced: Very bad news for consumers.

IQ Magazine has collected commentary from leaders in the ticketing industry, including our very own Maarten Bloemers:

“In five years I expect this to be deemed a total waste of money. It’s a joining of forces of two eerily similar entities, the main similarity being that they do not care in the slightest about the consumer they are supposedly serving. Technological innovation is making these businesses obsolete, and will put the priority back with the consumer, where it belongs.” — Maarten Bloemers

To read more reactions, check out the article on IQ:

As always, we’ll keep monitoring the shitshow that is the ticketing industry, and keep you posted.

This is not a drill: Maarten Bloemers goes digital

Our CEO Maarten Bloemers has finally been persuaded to join the virtual mayhem which is Twitter.

You can follow him here for all sorts of content, ranging from insights on the blockchain ticketing world, to behind the scenes content from our office, to comments on recent events such as the acquisition mentioned above.

His newly claimed digital fame has already gotten him more exposure, as he was interviewed on the CryptoBeadle Youtube channel. The conversation, which has already been viewed over 25.000 times, covers everything from central banking to GET token economics, to Will Ferrel. Check it out:

Blockonomi features GET Protocol

The good people over at Blockonomi have written a substantial article about GET Protocol. It covers a lot of ground, from the workings of the protocol to the most recent news and updates. Give it look or share with a friend!