*By Jacqueline Corba*
Blockparty, a ticket-selling start-up, wants to block the bots from nabbing all the good seats and prevent ticket fraud by using blockchain technology to sell concert tickets.
"There's enough people who've had fake tickets outside Madison Square Garden or other venues, and we're really trying to solve those problems, " the Blockparty co-founder and CEO Shiv Madan said Thursday in an interview with Cheddar's Crypto Craze.
Blockparty launched over Memorial Day weekend, selling tickets for the [Elements Music Festival] (http://ampthemag.com/the-real/blockparty-launches-publicly-after-ticketing-vip-events-at-elements-lakewood-music-festival/) in Lakewood, Pa. More than 7,000 people attended.
But concert-goers will have to wait before purchasing their next concert ticket on the company's mobile app. Madan said Blockparty won't sell tickets for events until later in the summer concert season.
Blockparty attaches a digital identity to a ticket, so when users buy or sell a ticket, their information is stored on the blockchain. The company's service is free for now, but Blockparty plans to introduce ticket fees based on the size of the event.
Currently users can buy tickets ー when they're available ー with fiat, but Blockparty plans to eventually accept cryptocurrencies too.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/how-blockparty-is-applying-blockchain-to-concert-tix).
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