Metallica has become the first act to use Ticketmaster’s ground-breaking paperless ticketing system in Europe.
The system, introduced commercially in the United States with Tom Waits’ U.S. theater tour earlier this year, makes its European debut when Metallica uses its charity-benefiting “fan party” at London’s O2 Arena on Sept. 15.to launch its new album “Death Magnetic” (Vertigo).
The 15,000 capacity show is only available to Metallica’s official fan club members and subscribers to the band’s missionmetallica.com Web site. Tickets, priced at £5 ($8.93), went on sale Sept. 1 and are close to selling out, according to Ticketmaster.
The show is promoted by London-based Kilimanjaro Live and AEG. Fans also had the option to buy conventional tickets. “Paperless ticketing means no box-office collection queues for these tickets with entry being given on the swipe of the credit card used for the book and photo ID checked by venue staff,” said Ticketmaster U.K. managing director Chris Edmonds in a statement. “This benefits both the consumer and the venue allowing secure, smooth and fast entry to events.”
Kilimanjaro CEO Stuart Galbraith added: “by working closely with Ticketmaster and the Paperless Ticket technology, we can deliver the band’s wishes and minimize the possibility of charitable tickets being resold in the secondary market.”
