Christopher BarrettSome of the UK’s biggest artists, consumer groups and associations representing every corner of the live music industry have called on Sir Keir Starmer to honour his pledge to protect fans from online ticket touts.
The Labour manifesto promised stronger consumer protections and the government has since pledged to cap resale prices to shut out the online touts – but more than a year after it first promised action, and seven months since its consultation on the issue closed, there has been no clear indication of when new laws will be introduced.
As a result, dozens of artists who have had enough of seeing their fans exploited are leading calls for the PM to commit to price cap legislation in the next King’s Speech.
The Cure’s Robert Smith, New Order, Mark Knopfler, Iron Maiden, Nick Cave, PJ Harvey and this year’s Mercury Prize winner Sam Fender are among the many acts to have signed a joint statement, along with Which?, FanFair Alliance, O2, the Football Supporters’ Association and organisations representing the music and theatre industries, venues, managers and ticket retailers including, LIVE, Musicians’ Union, UK Music and Music Managers Forum.
In the statement, the coalition says new protections are needed to “help fix elements of the extortionate and pernicious secondary ticketing market that serve the interests of touts, whose exploitative practices are preventing genuine fans from accessing the music, theatre and sports they love.”
It reads: “For too long certain resale platforms have allowed touts to bulk buy and then resell tickets at inflated prices, forcing fans to either pay above the odds or miss out entirely. This erodes trust in the live events sector and undermines the efforts of artists and organisers to make shows accessible and affordable.
“Introducing a cap will restore faith in the ticketing system, help democratise public access to the arts in line with the Government’s agenda and make it easier for fans to spot illegal behaviour, such as ticketing fraud.”
The statement comes as a new investigation from Which? found prolific ticket re-sellers in locations including Brazil, Dubai, Singapore, Spain and the US are buying up tickets for popular events in the UK, before relisting them at vastly inflated prices on Stubhub and Viagogo.
Oasis tickets for Wembley Stadium shows were listed for £3,498.85 on Stubhub and £4,442 on Viagogo. A seat for the Minnesota Vikings vs Cleveland Browns NFL clash at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was listed for £3,568.39 on Stubhub, while a Coldplay ticket, also for Wembley Stadium, was £814.52 on Stubhub. The most extreme example Which? found was a ticket for the All Points East festival in London’s Victoria Park, headlined by Raye, listed for £114,666 on Viagogo.
Which? also found evidence of speculative selling – when tickets are listed on secondary sites even though the seller has not bought them yet. Tickets for a Busted vs McFly show in Glasgow, which were available via Ticketmaster – the original seller – were simultaneously being listed on Stubhub and Viagogo at double the price.
Which? consumer law expert Lisa Webb said, “Today’s joint statement makes clear that artists, fan organisations and consumers reject the broken ticketing market that has allowed touts to thrive for too long.
“The Prime Minister pledged to protect fans and a price cap on resold tickets will be a critical step towards fixing this industry, but he must commit to this legislation by including it in the next King’s Speech.
“Further reforms are also needed to ensure sellers actually own the tickets they advertise before listing them, that resale platforms ensure the identities of sellers and key information about a ticket are verified and that the new rules are effectively enforced.”
FanFair Alliance campaign manager Adam Webb added, “FanFair Alliance has campaigned against the exploitative activities of online ticket touts since 2016. Operating via under-regulated offshore resale platforms, their parasitical and frequently unlawful practices cost UK ticket buyers hundreds of millions of pounds each year.
“The only pragmatic way to address this problem is through a cap on ticket resale prices – a measure that has been adopted successfully in a number of other countries, including Ireland and Australia.”