You may have heard of 'Verified Fan', the system used by Ticketmaster in the USA for some big gigs.

The system basically aims to discourage touts and touting bots from snapping up tickets when they go on sale by requiring fans to verify that they are genuine customers. It was used when tickets for Taylor Swift's tour recently went on sale, although it attracted criticism for some other reasons.

Ticketmaster's Head of Music David Marcus explained how it works to Newstalk's Jess Kelly, revealing that fans will be required to register 3-10 days before tickets go on sale, depending on the artist. They will be required to provide their name, phone number and email, and the system will then "run a series of algorithms" to predict whether they are likely to actually attend the show, or to sell the ticket on.

“If we predict that you are going to go to the show, you get invited to purchase the tickets in a pre-sale," he explained. "If we think that you are going to sell it, we don’t invite you.”

For fans who have been calling for the company to find a way to ban touts, it may offer some solution - although some have argued that the system may show favouritism by prioritising fans who have previously bought tickets for other artists, or merch for the artist in question - as many did for Swift's forthcoming tour. Marcus, who did not reveal how exactly the algorithms work, said: "The system does not try to rank fans based on how big a fan they are. That question is not asked. It is simply do we think they are likely to resell.

"We are the biggest ticket seller in the world. We have got a lot of insights about what fan behaviour looks like and what reseller behaviour looks like. The last point I want to make is; it is not a guarantee of a ticket. It is an invitation to purchase.”

There's no word on when exactly the Verified Fan system will be introduced in Ireland, but Jack White will be the first artist to use it in Europe on his forthcoming European tour.

The full interview with David Marcus can be heard on Newstalk's 'Tech Talk with Jess Kelly' this Sunday at 6pm.