After a tidal wave of bad press (and multiple lawsuits) following the Taylor Swift Eras Tour pre-sale fiasco, Live Nation’s Ticketmaster has quietly rebranded its “Verified Fan” program to “Pre-Registration.”
Ticketmaster recently switched Verified Fan to pre-registration and chose to detail the pivot in a roughly 2,000-word FAQ blog post as opposed to a formal release or social media message. (This blog post went online the day before Live Nation’s visit to the White House and, according to the release date, revealed plans to implement “flat pricing” starting in September.)
However, a Google search for “Ticketmaster Verified Fan” brings up a top result for the said pre-registration article, which is itself tagged “Verified Fan”. However, attempting to reach web addresses (e.g. blog.ticketmaster.com/verifiedfan-faq) associated with “Verified Fan” simply redirects to the pre-registration page.
As expected, the accompanying text describes the ins and outs of pre-registration and goes into great detail emphasizing that signing up to buy passes and securing pre-sale codes for high-demand shows doesn’t necessarily mean fans end up getting tickets.
“Similar to Verified Fan, while it doesn’t guarantee that everyone who registers will get tickets, it does significantly block bots and professional resellers from snagging tickets,” reads the source in the only mention of the apparently renamed Verified Fan- systems.
“Receiving an access code does not guarantee tickets, it only gives you access to the sale,” reads the text, which is used to replace “Verified Fan”. “Tickets will be available on a first come, first serve basis.”
Going forward, it will be interesting to see if “pre-registration” and the full explanation behind it can prevent opposition from lawmakers and potential customers when some fans are invariably unable to obtain first-hand tickets to see high-profile artists see .
Currently, however, Live Nation and Ticketmaster are making good use of the arbitration clause in their terms and conditions, having formally attempted to compel arbitration in the previously highlighted class action lawsuits brought by the allegedly losing Swifties.
According to one of the present antitrust lawsuits, “Based on information and belief, Ticketmaster intentionally and intentionally misled TaylorSwiftTix presale ticketholders by giving 1.4 million ‘verified’ fans codes with the option to purchase six tickets at a time.” provides locations for three venues. Ticketmaster did not have enough seats to meet the demand that would require that number of codes.”
More broadly, the Beverly Hills-based promoter and ticketing platform is lobbying heavily while continuing to grapple with regulatory scrutiny — specifically referring to laws supported by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, as well as to an antitrust investigation into their 2014 merger.