Ticketmaster has partnered with audio technology startup Lisnr to replace the traditional paper ticket with a sound wave.

Lisnr’s technology encodes data into an ultrasonic sound, inaudible to the human ear, which can be scanned by the venue to authenticate them for entry.

The system promises to eliminate fraud and speed up entry times, but also enable better personalisation, based on the event being attended – though it’s not clear what this customisation will actually look, or sound, like. Venture Beat reports that future plans include proximity-based messaging and even Lisnr-powered payments within the venues.

These sound-based tickets are tied to a person’s account and device, meaning a venue can be more sure of who its attendees are, and can be tracked as people move around – all of which plugs into Ticketmaster’s analytics platform, Presence.

The technology has been introduced at ‘hundreds’ of venues, with a full global rollout expected over the next four years.

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