Ticketmaster's new 'Verified Fan' system is coming to Ireland
Ticketmaster is set to change the way we buy tickets for concerts and live events as part of its efforts to tackle ticket touting.
The global ticket seller has said it is introducing a new system aimed at getting tickets into the hands of fans and out of the reach of touts.
The company is introducing a new step in the ticket buying process which will attempt to verify that the buyer is a genuine customer and not a tout.
The 'Verified Fan' system was recently used in the US for the sale of tickets for the Taylor Swift tour and a number of other world-renowned performers.
Newstalk's Jess Kelly recently sat down for an exclusive interview with company's Executive Vice President and Head of Music David Marcus.
He said: “It is a system for distributing tickets that relies not on when you buy the ticket but on who the ticket buyer is.
“It is a fairly simple registration based system.
“Before the tickets are put on sale, an artist opens up a registration window. Fans are asked to come and register. The registration window is typically anywhere from three days to ten days.
“Fans are asked to provide name, mobile phone number and email address.
“With that data, we run a series of algorithms we attempt to predict the registrant’s behaviour if they were invited to buy a ticket.
“Would they go to the show and use the ticket? or would they resell the ticket.
“If we predict that you are going to go to the show, you get invited to purchase the tickets in a pre-sale.
“If we think that you are going to sell it, we don’t invite you.”
