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| Verified fans: is this the system to finally beat the ticket touts? | |
| (3 months later) | |
| You might think you’re a real fan of an artist or show, but how far would you be prepared to go to get your hands on tickets to see them? | You might think you’re a real fan of an artist or show, but how far would you be prepared to go to get your hands on tickets to see them? |
| Would you be willing to hand over your personal information – name, phone number, email address and so on – to a faceless third party, and let someone nose around your Facebook page and Twitter feed, so they can try to establish whether you are a “genuine” fan? Would you be prepared to boost your chances of getting a good spot in the queue for tickets by splashing out on pricey merchandise – or even providing a sample of your DNA? | Would you be willing to hand over your personal information – name, phone number, email address and so on – to a faceless third party, and let someone nose around your Facebook page and Twitter feed, so they can try to establish whether you are a “genuine” fan? Would you be prepared to boost your chances of getting a good spot in the queue for tickets by splashing out on pricey merchandise – or even providing a sample of your DNA? |
| It all sounds like something out of the Netflix series Black Mirror – but most of the above is already a reality, courtesy of a new system devised by Ticketmaster that has made waves in the US and is now launching in the UK. (The bit about providing your DNA was a “joke” made by a Ticketmaster executive last year – at least, we think it was a joke.) | It all sounds like something out of the Netflix series Black Mirror – but most of the above is already a reality, courtesy of a new system devised by Ticketmaster that has made waves in the US and is now launching in the UK. (The bit about providing your DNA was a “joke” made by a Ticketmaster executive last year – at least, we think it was a joke.) |
| It is called Verified Fan, and former White Stripes frontman Jack White this week became one of the first acts to use it to sell tickets for his UK dates. It was tested out last year on a few intimate gigs by acts such as George Ezra and Paolo Nutini, but now appears to be getting a full roll-out. | It is called Verified Fan, and former White Stripes frontman Jack White this week became one of the first acts to use it to sell tickets for his UK dates. It was tested out last year on a few intimate gigs by acts such as George Ezra and Paolo Nutini, but now appears to be getting a full roll-out. |
| Ticketmaster describes Verified Fan as a way for “real fans to get exclusive ticket access to see their favourite shows”. You have to register, and then, if you are selected, you receive a unique code giving you access to a special pre-sale. The company says it is a highly effective way of clamping down on touts and computer “bots” – the software used to harvest tickets in bulk for resale at rip-off prices. | Ticketmaster describes Verified Fan as a way for “real fans to get exclusive ticket access to see their favourite shows”. You have to register, and then, if you are selected, you receive a unique code giving you access to a special pre-sale. The company says it is a highly effective way of clamping down on touts and computer “bots” – the software used to harvest tickets in bulk for resale at rip-off prices. |
| Verified Fan might be new to the UK, but in the US it has quickly become one of the main selling platforms, used by acts including Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Ed Sheeran and Harry Styles. | Verified Fan might be new to the UK, but in the US it has quickly become one of the main selling platforms, used by acts including Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Ed Sheeran and Harry Styles. |
| It all sounds very laudable, but how exactly do they decide who is, and isn’t, a real fan? The Verified Fan page on Ticketmaster’s UK website gives very little information about what happens behind the scenes. The company says it is “deliberately opaque” about how the system works. Dig around a bit, however, and you will find that the firm talks about using “algorithms and unique data analysis” to identify genuine fans and remove people using unfair tactics to access tickets. | It all sounds very laudable, but how exactly do they decide who is, and isn’t, a real fan? The Verified Fan page on Ticketmaster’s UK website gives very little information about what happens behind the scenes. The company says it is “deliberately opaque” about how the system works. Dig around a bit, however, and you will find that the firm talks about using “algorithms and unique data analysis” to identify genuine fans and remove people using unfair tactics to access tickets. |
| In an interview last year, the Ticketmaster Ireland managing director, Keith English, said: “People register ... and we then use sophisticated software to look at their social media activity and other things.” Meanwhile, another senior Ticketmaster figure told a US conference last year that with Verified Fan, “people will come in and register. They will give their first name, last name, email, Facebook ID,” jokily adding: “They’ll write a 10-page essay, provide DNA. They’ll do anything to give themselves an edge in getting tickets for what they are a fan of.” The service will then “score” people, based partly on data showing which other concerts they attended. | In an interview last year, the Ticketmaster Ireland managing director, Keith English, said: “People register ... and we then use sophisticated software to look at their social media activity and other things.” Meanwhile, another senior Ticketmaster figure told a US conference last year that with Verified Fan, “people will come in and register. They will give their first name, last name, email, Facebook ID,” jokily adding: “They’ll write a 10-page essay, provide DNA. They’ll do anything to give themselves an edge in getting tickets for what they are a fan of.” The service will then “score” people, based partly on data showing which other concerts they attended. |
| Ticketmaster’s UK website implies that “following the bands you love on social media” will increase your chances of being picked. However, it is far from clear what happens if you are a loyal follower of an act – you’ve been to the gigs and bought the records and T-shirts - but you don’t crow about it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. | Ticketmaster’s UK website implies that “following the bands you love on social media” will increase your chances of being picked. However, it is far from clear what happens if you are a loyal follower of an act – you’ve been to the gigs and bought the records and T-shirts - but you don’t crow about it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. |
| Ticket fraud expert Reg Walker, the director of security firm Iridium Consultancy, is scathing about Verified Fan, calling it “smoke and mirrors” and “simply a way of leveraging more money” from people, adding: “There’s not an algorithm in the world which will determine whether someone is a genuine fan or not.” | Ticket fraud expert Reg Walker, the director of security firm Iridium Consultancy, is scathing about Verified Fan, calling it “smoke and mirrors” and “simply a way of leveraging more money” from people, adding: “There’s not an algorithm in the world which will determine whether someone is a genuine fan or not.” |
| But Ticketmaster says that with more than 3m fan registrations, 60 tours and an average success rate of 90% in keeping tickets off secondary markets, Verified Fan “has proven its success as an innovative new tool that helps artists get tickets directly into the hands of fans”. | But Ticketmaster says that with more than 3m fan registrations, 60 tours and an average success rate of 90% in keeping tickets off secondary markets, Verified Fan “has proven its success as an innovative new tool that helps artists get tickets directly into the hands of fans”. |
| Jack White is playing two London dates in June, and his Verified Fan presale registration looks fairly innocuous: it asks for your name, email address, postcode and mobile phone number. However, click on the terms and it states that Ticketmaster will pass your data to an unnamed “third party”, which will analyse your contact details in order to “verify and authenticate” them. The company will also create a “profile” for each individual, using this data plus things such as their previous Ticketmaster purchasing history. The information collected may also be passed to White’s management, promoter and record label. There’s no specific mention of social media in the terms. | Jack White is playing two London dates in June, and his Verified Fan presale registration looks fairly innocuous: it asks for your name, email address, postcode and mobile phone number. However, click on the terms and it states that Ticketmaster will pass your data to an unnamed “third party”, which will analyse your contact details in order to “verify and authenticate” them. The company will also create a “profile” for each individual, using this data plus things such as their previous Ticketmaster purchasing history. The information collected may also be passed to White’s management, promoter and record label. There’s no specific mention of social media in the terms. |
| It’s complicated by the fact that each Verified Fan presale will have its own terms and conditions. For example, Taylor Swift copped a lot of flak in the US for running a system where fans could improve their position in the ticket queue by forking out on merchandise etc.To be fair to White, his UK fans don’t have to sign up to Verified Fan in order to see him – tickets will also go on general sale on Friday morning, two days after the Verified pre-sale. But in the US, tickets for some concerts and shows, including gigs by U2 and Springsteen, have only been available via the platform. So, like it or not, this new system is here, and you had better get used to it... | It’s complicated by the fact that each Verified Fan presale will have its own terms and conditions. For example, Taylor Swift copped a lot of flak in the US for running a system where fans could improve their position in the ticket queue by forking out on merchandise etc.To be fair to White, his UK fans don’t have to sign up to Verified Fan in order to see him – tickets will also go on general sale on Friday morning, two days after the Verified pre-sale. But in the US, tickets for some concerts and shows, including gigs by U2 and Springsteen, have only been available via the platform. So, like it or not, this new system is here, and you had better get used to it... |
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