The authorities are preparing to implement six projects in the field of digital transformation of the cultural industry

The Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Digital Development and other relevant government agencies must develop and implement six projects in the field of digital transformation of the cultural industry. Among them is the creation of the “GOSBilet” service, which will aggregate information about all tickets sold in the Russian Federation. This, according to the authorities, should solve the problem of counterfeit tickets and scalpers. Market participants consider the initiative useful, but doubt the possibility of its practical implementation.

“Kommersant” got acquainted with the document “Strategic directions in the field of digital transformation of the cultural sector of the Russian Federation until 2030” approved by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on December 17. The Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Digital Development, relevant regional government agencies, the ANO Digital Economy and others are responsible for implementation.

The document outlines six projects that should help achieve “a high level of digital maturity in the interaction of visitors and cultural institutions.” This, for example, is the creation of a single library card for all libraries, digital profiles of visitors and cultural institutions, as well as a standard cloud solution for a single poster and ticket field for a particular region. Promotion of events should take place using the tour organization module (“Tour Exchange”). All projects are implemented on the Gostekh platform.

It is also planned to create a “GOSBilet” service to record and analyze all tickets purchased for cultural events in the country.

It is designed to save viewers from counterfeits and overpricing by speculators, as well as speed up the ticket return process. The service’s roadmap states that it will represent “a single digital environment of trust for all participants in the cultural industry ticket market.” Refunds must be made electronically, and information about changes in ticket status must be updated in real time. The collection and processing of ticket data throughout the Russian Federation is planned to be completed by the third quarter of 2024, and the service will be launched a year later. By 2030, the system will generate 306 million records per year. The system operator has not been named. The Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Digital Development reported that “the format for implementing the program is being worked out.”

One of the problems in the industry has been fraud within the framework of the “Pushkin Card” (see “Kommersant” dated March 9). As a result, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Digital Development proposed to make VK the single ticket operator of the Pushkin Card. VK declined to comment.

Perhaps we are talking about creating a unified digital environment where organizers will be required to report sales and returns, says co-founder and CEO of Ticketscloud Egor Egerev. “But it is not yet clear how this will save spectators from counterfeit tickets. Perhaps a counterfeit ticket can be checked on the “GOSBilet” resource immediately after purchase,” he notes. Ticketscloud has its own protection for counterfeit tickets, Mr. Egerev clarified. “It uses dynamic QR codes,” he explains. “The ticket is linked to a mobile phone number, the QR code changes every five seconds, so it cannot be copied, and when resold, the ticket changes owner. The previous owner cannot use it.”

Industry players discussed the concept of a single ticket operator back in the mid-2010s, says Sergei Babich, organizer of the Colisium international music industry forum, “in this context, the emergence of regulatory mechanisms on the part of the state is logical.” However, market participants express doubts about the feasibility of the project.

The problem of counterfeit tickets has been exaggerated, says Mikhail Minin, CEO of MTS Entertainment (owns aggregators Ticketland, MTS Live and the cloud ticket platform Ticketscloud).

In his opinion, there are other, much more common problems – “massive purchase of tickets for subsequent speculation, fake sites using the corporate identity and logos of theaters or other institutions, or selling tickets at more than the nominal price.”

The authors of the idea “should rather take care of issues related to speculators and their technologies,” agrees the head of the NCA concert agency Mikhail Shurygin. “The ticket market is now completely digitized, and counterfeit tickets are not a serious threat,” he says.

Mr. Egerev believes that it will be difficult to fight speculators even within the framework of a single system: “It is not clear how one can limit the transfer of a ticket to a third party. For example, a person could pretend to buy several tickets to friends or family and then resell the ticket without anyone knowing.”

Yulia Yurasova