Like many (some? none?) of you, I always secured hard copy tickets to any live show I went to, if possible.

Been doing so since the late 90s and have amassed a number of them.

As time has gone on, many venues have opted out of hard tickets for e-tickets within the platform of purchase, PDF tickets, etc. But, if at all possible, I've still paid the extra shipping fee or made my way to will call to get that physical souvenir.

It's a small, trivial thing, but I like the throughline of the music experience it provides me. Sort of a haptic experience like with vinyl, CDs, liner notes, etc. What can I say, I like physical media, much to my detriment, lol.

Anyway, pre-COVID, I've been successfully able to secure hard copy tickets about 90% of the time for all live shows. In light of folks anecdotally always saying it was on its last leg.

But given the cultural aversion to physical business interaction that may arrive in a post-COVID world, I'm wondering if that will no longer be an option.

Or maybe I'm overreacting. If your e-ticket or PDF still has to be scanned for concert entry, so would your paper ticket, I suppose. Though, the offering of paper tickets may be a cost consideration that venues no longer want to support when getting back on their feet post-COVID.

I'd imagine the concert halls and arenas will want to cut costs as much as possible after venues open up. Paper ticketing could very well be low-hanging fruit.

I don't go to many shows now but I really liked holding onto the paper ticket stub. It makes for a more romantic remembrance of a great show than a selfie or video. But progress has steamrolled over a great number of outstanding aspects of culture. Paper ticketing may be its next victim.

it'll be cheaper. faster. certain crowds won't like it but COVID is just expediting where we were headed as an industry anyway.

I think super special events - Super Bowl, maybe a last show or something will have commemorative stock, but overall....paper tickets need to go

>As time has gone on, many venues have opted out of hard
>tickets for e-tickets within the platform of purchase, PDF
>tickets, etc. But, if at all possible, I've still paid the
>extra shipping fee or made my way to will call to get that
>physical souvenir.

I have all of mine on a cork board but I'll probably end up putting them into an album of some sort later. It would be a shame if that ended, whenever shows really start get going again that is. I'm starting to see a few artists that I would be interested in announce shown in my city but (pandemic aside) the cost is way too high right now.

this is low-key embarrassing lol but when they did their tour in 2014 they initially only announced 1 Atlanta date. I knew someone that worked for Ticketmaster so I was able to get a ticket before they sold out (which they did in like 8 minutes).

Then they dropped two more shows. And I wanted to see the Sunday lineup instead of the original Saturday show that I had. I was HUSLTING. So I still have my original Saturday ticket, the pdf ticket from the Sunday show, the wristband from the show - AND the ad they put in one of our local papers announcing the show. At some point I'm going to frame it.

...or even those who work in the industry, any current intel on this?

I know we aren't out of the pandemic by any means, but given shows (concerts, festivals, etc.) have opened back up, I'm curious what the status on this is. Or what others' experience has been.

... some teams (including the Pats) are using COVID as a (bullshit) excuse to save money on making and shipping out tickets.

It's absolute horseshit, of course, because it was "touchless" even with physical tickets. The gatespeople just scanned your ticket while you held it in front of the scanner, or held the lanyard the ticket was in in front of the scanner. Now we're just doing the exact same thing .. but with our phones. But now lines are about 10x as long because no one can fucking figure out the mobile apps/tickets, didn't plan ahead, or their phone died, or they're not getting service, or whateverthefuck.

So yea. It's a scam. And I am livid about it cuz I'm one of those people you mentioned in the OP who keeps the physical tickets for everything: sporting events, concerts, festivals, whatever.

It's so annoying.