Ticketmaster (LYV) has rolled out some new technology, known as Verified Fan, to help eliminate the use of automated software or “bots”, to acquire tickets for sale on the resale market. In the past, when tickets for high profile events went on sale, “bots” would acquire a large number of tickets within seconds of their posting for sale, resulting in immediate sell outs. Simultaneously, these same tickets would be listed by the “bots” owners on resale sites, at markups up to 1,000%. The new technology looks for buyers to register prior to the seats going on sale and looks to verify the buyer’s identity using their purchase history and social media activity. Ticketmaster has stated that 90% of tickets sold using Verified Fan have been kept off the secondary market.
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Howie Long-Short: This is good for fans, but the roll-out is likely to be only for limited events.
Fan Marino: I’m certainly supportive of any technology that benefits the “real fan”. While this technology won’t keep Amazon (AMZN) from eventually taking over the ticketing space, it is a start in terms of generating goodwill with its customer base.
