In mid-2013, the art industry in Spain suffered a big blow. The government decided to raise tax for theatrical shows from 8% to 21%, resulting in a great loss of audience. So independent comedy theatre company Teatreneu decided to launch a comedy show that you paid for only when you laughed.
Entrace to the show was totally free. But for every laugh during the show the spectator had to pay 30 euro cents, with the maximum amount being 24 Euros for 80 laughs. This unique way of charging for the show was made possible by fitting each theatre seat with a facial recognition system that detected the smile of the spectators.
As a result, the average price of the ticket increased by 6 Euros. The technology used was the talk of the town and it increased the show viewership by 35%.