John Mayer tour goes completely paperless for summer ‘Battle Studies’ dates

After limited trials of paperless ticketing earlier this year, pop-rock musician John Mayer has elected to go entirely paperless for his upcoming Battle Studies Summer Tour.

Mayer first tested the paperless process in select markets on the first leg of the Battles Studies Tour. That trial focused on prime seating locations only, but his summer tour will take paperless ticketing to the next level when widespread onsales begin on April 17 and April 23-24.

“For the very first time, ALL pavilion seats at amphitheaters on this tour will be paperless,” reads a notice on the singer-songwriter’s official Web site. “You must bring the credit card used to purchase your tickets and a valid ID in order to enter the venue.”

Only two stops on the tour will not use paperless technology implemented by Ticketmaster — Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, PA, and Usana Amphitheatre in Salt Lake City, UT. For these two dates, Mayer’s site notes, “Paperless ticketing not available. Premium seat locations will be forced Will Call.”

While paperless tickets have come under fire by some opponents for their lack of transferability, Mayer is allowing fans to resell tickets — but only through the Ticketmaster-operated TicketExchange. On Ticketmaster.com, event listings for Mayer are accompanied by the following explanation of the TicketExchange platform:

Paperless TicketExchange is the safe and secure place for buying and selling tickets online. It’s the worry-free source for real tickets. Tickets purchased on TicketExchange are guaranteed to get you in. The seller’s original tickets are canceled and a new set is issued for you.

Paperless tickets are non-transferable, however fans unable to attend the event may have an opportunity to post their tickets for sale on TicketExchange for the face value price, where TicketExchange is made available.

Mayer is not the first artist to utilize paperless ticketing for an entire tour. Ticketmaster introduced paperless ticketing in early 2008, using the process exclusively for Tom Waits’ acclaimed Glitter and Doom Tour.

Most recently, Miley Cyrus chose paperless ticketing for her 2009 headlining tour. The Disney starlet’s decision was interpreted largely as a response to the ticketing disaster of her 2007 “Hannah Montana” tour. A combination of ticket holdbacks and quick sell-outs in most markets caused secondary market prices to skyrocket, resulting in parent protests and state legislative furor.

Mayer’s summer tour leg officially launches with a July 16 concert at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Charlotte, NC, and concludes eight weeks later on September 11 at Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, FL. Train, The Avett Brothers and Owl City will all share opening duties throughout the tour.

The next concert of Mayer’s spring tour takes place tonight, April 1, at General Motors Place in Vancouver, BC. North American performances are booked through April 10 at United Center in Chicago, IL, though jaunts through the Asia-Pacific region and across Europe will keep Mayer on the road through the first days of June.

John Mayer itinerary:
(Dates are subject to change.)