Our weekly tech round-up from the world of ticketing and associated industries…
Metaverse
US billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban and electronic music producer Deadmau5 are among high-profile backers of London-based interactive entertainment company, Oorbit. The company produces interactive entertainment for the metaverse and has raised $5m (£3.8m/€4.6m) in a seed funding round.
The platform is set to launch later in 2022 and will allow players to experience high-quality games, events, interactive media, marketplaces and more.
Other investors alongside Cuban and Pixelnyx (Deadmau5) include technology investment firm, HOF Capital.
Biometrics
Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre in Colorado will no longer implement Amazon’s palm-scanning technology for entry at its venue. The famed venue has rejected the Amazon One biometrics technology, following uproar from artists, activists and human rights organisations.
Some 300 artists such as Tom Morello from band Rage Against The Machine signed an open letter calling out privacy concerns over the use of the technology.
The technology was set to allow ticket holders to enter the venue with just the use of their palm.
NFTs
Non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace for music, ticketing and community tokens, YellowHeart, has teamed up with Geezer Butler of iconic rock band, Black Sabbath. Butler is set to launch his first-ever NFTs in the form of a graphic novel called ‘The Antibody Collection’, which is due to drop on March 25.
The NFT collection will present each chapter as an animated NFT featuring original music from Butler as well as artwork by Kolin Humphries (KOL).
Butler will donate the profits from the NFT collection to organisations helping Ukrainian relief efforts, such as Save The Children and UNICEF.
Esports
Esports and entertainment company, Allied Esports, is launching its first NFT collection, EpicBeast.
NFTs will allow gaming fans access to Allied Esports-backed events and future metaverse experiences, royalties on collectible sales, customisable merchandise and monthly live streams.
NFT holders will also have access to a VIP welcome party at HyperX Arena Las Vegas as well as other real-life events.
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Background image: Ales Nesetril on Unsplash