Boston Symphony Orchestra

Like most orchestras, the BSO faced a persistent challenge: while they knew their ticket buyers well, they had limited visibility into who was actually filling their seats. This "shadow audience"—friends, family members, and ticket recipients who weren't the original purchasers—represented both an information gap and an untapped opportunity.

The BSO’s digital shift was also about better protecting their patrons. Prior to True Tickets, fraudulent resales and unauthorized brokers were becoming an increasingly complex problem. The institution lacked the tools to understand how tickets were being misused, and often had to play a reactive game of “whack-a-mole.”

despite initial concerns about adoption—especially among older patrons—mobile ticketing has proven to be both intuitive and well-received.

“I don’t hear that much complaining about mobile tickets anymore.” Nick shared. “No news is good news—and we’re seeing less and less need for staff assistance. Buying and using a digital ticket means people are more engaged.”

Now, the BSO has an array of tools to identify patterns of abuse, trace problematic orders, and help patrons who accidentally bought on resale sites. Allowing them to combat unauthorized ticket reselling and protect their patrons:

• Reduce chargebacks through identification of fraudulent purchase patterns
• Reclaim and resold tickets from unauthorized resellers
• Enhance ticket terms enforcement through ticket-level controls and visibility

"We have more tools now," said Nick. "If someone shows up with a questionable ticket, we can trace the transaction and see what happened. That's a huge shift in our ability to help them."

Instead of turning patrons away, the BSO is solving problems—and building trust—at the very moment of need.