RFID and the Arts

Douglas Bourque, RFID manager at Precision Dynamics—an RFID wristband manufacturer in San Fernando, Calif.—says a growing number of concert organizers are turning to RFID as a way to reduce ticket counterfeiting, improve crowd control and achieve more accurate attendance counts. "A vendor can download the reader's data and balance the books right on the spot," he says.

SXSW's RFID adoption arose out of necessity: With more than 1,500 bands and some 70 venues, crowd control was getting out of hand. "A few years ago, we had a big counterfeiting problem," says Wilcox. People who were only entitled to enter music events were sneaking into other areas, such as conferences and trade exhibits. "We started looking at RFID as a way to prevent that," Wilcox says.



For assistance, SXSW turned to Precision Dynamics. The company suggested its Smart Band Wristband, which features a tiny, flat RFID chip sealed inside a nontransferable plastic strap. Each chip contains a unique serial number that, when pinged by an interrogator, verifies the wristband's authenticity.

The wristbands cost approximately $1 apiece. For Wilcox, the wristbands ensure that only properly credentialed individuals get into each venue. "We use it as an authentication technology," he says. The organization has gradually expanded the technology's use over the past few years, adding more wristbands and more interrogators. "Our first year, we started with maybe 20 readers. Last year, we had 40," Wilcox says. "This year, I'm expecting we will have at least 60. It's a technology that has proven its worth."

Encore
As RFID's cost continues dropping, and as both tags and interrogators get smaller and more convenient to use, the technology will undoubtedly be adopted by a greater number of arts organizations, says private investigator Hill. "RFID is so much better and more cost-effective than big systems that essentially cover rooms at night," he says. As thieves become more brazen, staging daylight robberies of museums and galleries, arts organizations need a system able to provide 24-7 monitoring. "A wireless system can protect an object wherever it is and whenever it is moved," he says. "I think it's the wave of the future."

SNAGG's Forte agrees. "The theft market is currently a nascent opportunity," he says. "RFID will eventually be ubiquitous."

"What we're looking at is embryonic," adds Forrester's Daley. "There's no doubt that it's only going to continue to grow."