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TICKETMASTER IS CONSIDERING using software to look at people’s social media to identify if they’re a genuine fan before allowing them to buy a ticket.
Speaking about the verified fan product on Newstalk Breakfast, head of Ticketmaster Keith English said the programme helps tackle ticket touts and may be introduced here in the future.
English said, “We’ve just launched in the US and we’re looking at bringing it internationally.
People register prior to an on-sale and then we use sophisticated software to look at their social media activity and other things to try and identify if they’re a genuine fan or not and then send them a code allowing them to purchase a ticket.
“But we also have to think about what’s the consumer journey to purchasing a ticket, they want to log onto our website, find the ticket that they want, pay with their credit card and be done. They don’t to spend hours there, they don’t want to give us their life history.”
Ticketmaster currently sells tickets for around 8,000 events in Ireland every year and English said ticket touting isn’t common.
“In terms of volumes, it’s very small. It makes a lot of noise because it’s usually about those high profile events and there’s a lot of fan interest when that goes on.
These days consumers do not accept that something is sold out, they will go and look for another way to buy a ticket.
“If Ticketmaster puts out a ‘sold out’ sign … they will start going on listing sites and they will then be prey to someone who doesn’t care if they’re selling a genuine product to them or not.”
‘People need to cop on’
When asked by Newstalk’s technology correspondent Jessica Kelly if legislation is needed to tackle ticket touting, English said this will ‘just push the problem underground’.
“If you look at places like Belgium where legislation has taken place, the well behaved or best in class re-sellers have simply stopped their activities and all sorts of other mini sites have popped up to take their place. If there’s a consumer out there who wants to spend money on a ticket – be it at a higher price than the face value – they’re going to do it.”
Seatwave is an online site for the reselling of ticket that is owned by Ticketmaster. Kelly asked English if Ticketmaster keeps a selection of tickets aside to upload on Seatwave, he said:
We do not, nor have we ever, put any tickets onto Seatwave. That’s not our job. Somebody has already bought them … but that person who bought it has decided they’re going to resell it.
When asked if Ticketmaster should interject in some cases, he said, “Everybody jumps on what the listing price is but tickets very rarely ever sell for those prices
“This is consumer choice – if you want to make that purchase, that’s entirely up to you and if you want to do it, it should be in a secure, safe environment.
He added, “It’s amazing how many people arrive at the gates with a fake ticket, or sometimes they don’t even have a ticket.
They’ve been asked to transfer money and they walk up to our box office and say ‘I’m here to collect my tickets’ and we say ‘we don’t know who you are’. They know, we can see it in them, they know they’ve been duped, so yea – cop on.
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So the book shamelessly plugged for weeks by Aoife at Journal.ie wins the Journal.ie sponsored award presented by Aoife. All above board so, move along.
This book was edited by Sepp Blatter and funded by Bertie Ahern. Well done to all.
The ‘If you sponsor an award you can pick which book you want to win’ awards.
Hi Peter, we sponsor the award – we don’t pick who wins. The votes for all of the awards are cast by a judging panel who we are not involved with or members of, and members of the public.
I wrote a number of articles as part of our sponsorship, (like other publications did) on a number of the nominees. You can find them if you search for ‘Irish book awards’ on the site.
Also I wrote two pieces on Long Gaze Back, one when it was published in September and one yesterday, after the public voting for the awards had closed.
The ” give everyone an award to get the books into the media to increase sales for Christmas awards”
“Ireland AM Crime Book of the Year”.
If I were that author I’d be dropping the “Ireland AM” bit from my CV.
Bressie looks delighted. I’m glad that he won an award. Awards for anthologies always puzzle me. It’s basically a prize for other peoples work and imagination.
So the Journal award goes to one of it’s own ???
To The Journal.ie… I am curious how votes were cast in your office for this award.. If #wakingthefeminist was about conspiracy AGAINST female writers, then I suppose this award is a conspiracy FOR female writers..
Hi Sinead, we sponsor the award – we don’t pick who wins. The votes for all of the awards are cast by a judging panel who we are not involved with or members of, and members of the public. Hope that clears things up for you.
Joe Duffy and Niall Breslin…….SAKE!
Right, that’s the feminist list.
Now where’s the real list?
Delighted for Dónal Ryan – a stunning collection of short stories. Well deserved!
But that award is for s single short story, ‘slanting of the sun’. I didn’t think it was the best story in the book?
I though gilmores book would have been a shoe in for the fiction award after all his promoting and drama and shot at dawn bull. Maybe it’s in the fantasy section or heaven forbid, maybe it’s just crap, and nobody’s buying it!
Jim mcguinnesses book is very good.
Awards for books that hardly anyone will bother reading.
speak for yourself
In my humble opinion Mr Donleavy is a tad over rated. The ginger man was his first and best book. After that he descended into a surreal sort of post aristocratic Irish pastiche. First prize for his longevity. Still fighting fit in his mid nineties. I suspect keeping his exposure to other humans to a minimum helps with this.
Not Ireland’s favourite books. They would be the ones people read and enjoyed. Most likely to be found topping the charts. These are winning books picked from eligible books whose entry is sponsored by the publisher. Having said that, for the winning authors, it’s nice to get the recognition. Congratulations to them.
Ur old enough to know the rich look after the rich best thing is they do not look happy happy days
I’m sure you’re right j k but I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.
No Irish author in the Mills & Boon series? No Irish novelist nominated for the Bad Sex award in Britain?
Joe Duffy – oh, is that the one with the national radio show, the one that’s been promoting his book all year, at licence payers’ expense? The one who had his book printed in Germany?
Oh yes, so it is.
“This is a local book for local/ German jobs.”
Yet the Bible keeps on selling, it reminds me of the so called charts. The best selling music that beats those on those famoust top 40 turns out to be classical music and Mozart keeps on selling.
So when I see charts, awards or the top 5 then I think that they exist in order to sell these goods as those who sell themselves well never get a mention…
have your say