Joe GallopLive industry organisations and professionals from across Europe have joined together to launch Make Tickets Fair!, a campaign aimed at warning customers of the dangers of buying resale tickets.
A new industry-facing website has launched, with the aim of getting more agents, promoters, venues and artists involved ahead of a consumer launch. The site provides free resources for event organisers to direct fans to safe, official channels to buy resale tickets. It also offers an overview of ticket resale laws country by country.
Further details are to be revealed at a Eurosonic panel tomorrow (19 January), hosted by ticket resale pressure group FEAT and Dutch venues association VNPF. Speakers include Henk Schuit (managing director, Eventim Nederland), Jules de Lattre (senior music agent, United Talent Agency), Sam Shemtob (director, FEAT) and Silke Lalvani (head of public affairs, Pearle* – Live Performance Europe).
Conceived at ILMC, the campaign has been devised by a cross-industry working group coordinated by FEAT. The group comprises a range of individuals and organisations including UTA’s Jules de Lattre and One Fiinix Live’s Jon Ollier, as well as organisations including German live entertainment association BDKV, the European Music Managers Alliance, European Arenas Association, FanFair Alliance, Swiss consumer association FRC, Pearle* – Live Performance Europe, PRODISS, the Sports Rights Owners Coalition and Victim of Viagogo.
UTA senior music agent Jules de Lattre said, “It’s vital that this campaign is successful, and that means becoming front-of-mind with agents, managers and promoters when they are planning shows – so safe resale information goes out with all communications, including on ticket pages.”
Neo Sala, FEAT Director and Founder & CEO of Doctor Music, said, “The current ticket resale market is, frankly, broken and the time for the industry to come together and act is long overdue.”
The Sports Rights Owners Coalition (SROC) chairman Mark Lichtenhein said, “The majority of major sporting events typically experience demand for tickets far exceeding the physical capacity of the venue, leading to illegitimate offers in secondary markets. It is therefore essential that fans are equipped with all the relevant, correct information before making any ticketing purchases.”