The government has announced a consultation to look at new measures to make ticket-buying fairer.
Proposals include a cap on the price of ticket resales and increasing the accountability of ticket resale websites and apps.
Ministers will also examine “dynamic pricing” which hit the headlines with Oasis’ reunion tour.
It’s not just about music, but theatre, comedy and sports ticketing.
According to analysis by the Competition and Market Authority, typical mark-ups on tickets sold on the secondary market are more than 50% and investigations by Trading Standards have uncovered evidence of tickets being resold for up to six times their original cost.
Virgin Media O2’s research showed that ticket touts cost music fans an additional £145m every year.
“The chance to see your favourite musicians or sports team live is something all of us enjoy and everyone deserves a fair shot at getting tickets – but for too long fans have had to endure the misery of touts hoovering up tickets for resale at vastly inflated prices,” said Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy.
“As part of our Plan for Change, we are taking action to strengthen consumer protections, stop fans getting ripped off and ensure money spent on tickets goes back into our incredible live events sector, instead of into the pockets of greedy touts.”
The consultation will explore a range of options including:
- A cap on the price of ticket resales. It will seek views on a range from the original price to up to a 30% increase and also limiting the number of tickets resellers can list.
- Increasing the accountability of ticket resale websites and apps – creating new legal obligations so that they are held responsible by Trading Standards and the Competition and Market Authority for the accuracy of information they provide to fans.
- Strengthening consumer enforcement – reviewing existing legislation to bring it up to date, including stronger fines and a new licensing regime for re-sale platforms to increase enforcement of protections for consumers.
“For far too long, fans have faced an uphill battle to find face value tickets to see their favourite artist perform or sports team play live so it’s absolutely right the government wants to make ticketing fairer for consumers,” added Rocio Concha, Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy.
“In recent years, touts have been allowed to charge fans hundreds of pounds extra for secondary tickets, it has been very difficult for resale platforms to be held to account for poor practices and consumers have had to watch out for scam tickets circulating online. The recent Oasis ticket sales also highlighted the flaws of so-called dynamic pricing in this market – with some customers queuing for hours for tickets only to find that prices had risen dramatically and were no longer affordable.
“The government must use this consultation to regulate the industry properly, ensure ticket resales don’t exploit fans and decide when the use of dynamic pricing is unfair and shouldn’t be allowed.”
Alongside the consultation the government has launched a call for evidence in pricing practices in the live events sector – the aforementioned dynamic pricing being one of those practices.
This adjusts ticket prices based on demand, time, and availability, which can lead to increased costs for popular events or prices being brought down where there is increasing availability or reduced demand.
The call for evidence will seek views on whether the ticketing system in the live events sector is working for fans and if there is sufficient protection from unfair practices.
“This consultation is very welcome and addresses key issues that affect fans, the artists they love and the wider music industry. Secondary ticketing diverts money away from artists and makes it harder for them to tour and ultimately to make new music. Unfair ticketing pricing and practices can also damage the relationship between artist and fan,” said Naomi Pohl, General Secretary Musicians’ Union.
“We believe that the money fans pay for tickets should always go to fund their favourite artists’ careers and the wider music ecosystem; not into the pockets of touts.”
