Event organizers have a new option for managing and delivering tickets quickly and seamlessly following the launch of NeonOx, a new platform leveraging blockchain and NFT technology to solve ticketing industry challenges.

Founded by Baltimore-based ticketing industry veterans Joe Loverde and Chris Honsberger, NeonOx is a blockchain ticketing solutions provider for individuals, companies and promoters looking to leverage the security and innovative applications of NFTs as part of the ticketing process.

NeonOx allows businesses to focus on the fan or attendee experience while the technology guides ticket-buyers and sellers through a simple registration process that takes half the time of traditional ticketing methods.

Loverde and Honsberger are kicking off NeonOx’s marketing push during the South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conference and Festivals in Austin, Texas, which celebrates the convergence of the technology, film, and music industries.

“We’re staying ahead of this ever-evolving industry to make cutting-edge technology accessible to everyone — from blockchain beginners to encryption experts,” said Honsberger, head of business strategy and development. “We believe NFTs are the future and the companies that boldly embrace this technology will become the leaders of their industries.”

NeonOx offers event organizers peace of mind by using technology to deliver and access NFT tickets. Digital smart tickets enable control of the event cycle via mobile phone and for tracking activity in real time. Paper tickets are no longer needed. When the event is over, the ticket image is minted into an NFT to serve as a digital collectible or for other uses.

“We see ourselves as blockchain ambassadors, not gatekeepers, and we’re enthusiastic about welcoming clients to the world of secure, hassle-free transactions and guiding them through the process since this aspect of the industry is in its early stages and will bring powerful benefits,” Loverde said.

Your Public Radio, known for its radio and broadcast services under WYPR-FM and WTMD-FM and its successful podcasts, including award-winning Out of the Blocks, The Daily Dose, Essential Tremors and The Maryland Curiosity Bureau, will release the limited podcast series Wavelength: Baltimore’s Public Radio Journey. In recognition of WYPR’s 20th anniversary, the six-episode podcast will examine the history and impact of public radio in Baltimore.

Hosted by noted storyteller and actress Maria Broom, and featuring interviews and archival tape, the podcast will take listeners on a journey from public radio’s early days to now. Listeners will learn about the evolution of WYPR, WTMD, WEAA and WBJC, how the stations responded to major news stories, featured local and national musicians, and how they found their place in Baltimore’s current radio scene.

In the first episode, Johns Hopkins, executive director of Baltimore Heritage, walks listeners through the early days of radio in Baltimore. Hopkins and WYPR President and General Manager LaFontaine E. Oliver teamed up to share more about the topic in one of Baltimore Heritage’s popular “Five Minute Histories”. The video will be published at baltimoreheritage.org and wypr.org.

Your Public Radio will release Wavelength as its first podcast under its new Your Public Studios podcast home, which will replace WYPR’s Podcast Central, and house all podcasts coming out of WYPR and WTMD as well as podcasts from local independent producers and other local partners and organizations seeking quality podcast production and on-demand audio.

“The inflection point of our anniversary gives us an opportunity to contemplate additional ways to make content not just for and about our community but with our community,” said LaFontaine E. Oliver, WYPR’s President and General Manager.

Photo: Mid-Atlantic Marketing Summit event