Ticketmaster has launched an integration with CashorTrade that lets verified concert tickets be resold on CashorTrade’s fan-to-fan marketplace at face value or below. It’s a direct shot at scalpers, and it’s built on technology that actually backs up the promise.
CashorTrade has been fighting this battle since 2009, building a community-driven marketplace around profile transparency and peer accountability long before the conversation went mainstream. The platform already has the trust of artists like Phish, Umphrey’s McGee, Waxahatchee, The Disco Biscuits, moe., and Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, among others. “What started in the parking lots as a fight for fairness has grown into something much bigger,” says CEO and co-founder Brando Rich. This integration is the next logical step.
The mechanics are straightforward. Ticketmaster tickets can be listed on CashorTrade, authenticated through Ticketmaster’s verification technology, and capped at or below true face value with no markups. Sellers choose who they sell to, and buyers receive a newly issued ticket directly through the CashorTrade app. “Fans deserve more ways to buy and sell tickets at the original price, with confidence that what they’re getting is legitimate,” says David Marcus, EVP of Music at Ticketmaster.
The integration builds on Ticketmaster’s Face Value Exchange, launched in 2019 to give artists the option to cap resale prices. Expanding that infrastructure through a platform with CashorTrade’s credibility and community roots makes the whole system more useful for everyone except the scalpers.