Thirty-eight prominent British artists, including the legendary band Iron Maiden and Robert Smith of The Cure, have united in a plea to Labour leader Keir Starmer, urging him to address the rampant issue of ticket touting. Just last week, the musicians sent a letter promising to withhold their services until this egregious provision is removed. They blasted the “pernicious” practices of secondary ticketing websites such as Viagogo and StubHub, which rip off fans by marking up tickets.
It’s not lost on artists that real music fans are the ones who have forced these secondary markets to flourish. Sadly, they’re left with either extortionate markup costs or the danger of losing out on much sought after tickets entirely. Ticket touts regularly rely on bots and other sophisticated software to sweep up tickets by the thousands. This practice creates an unfair advantage for them over average consumers. This practice is miserable for fans and destroys the integrity of some live events.
The letter featured a few egregious instances of price gouging on ticket prices. For example, it lobbied against Oasis dates at Wembley Stadium where tickets were listed at an eye-watering £3,498.85 on StubHub and £4,442 on Viagogo. In the same way, one ticket for Coldplay gigs at Wembley was advertised at £814.52 on StubHub. Even that paled in comparison to a listing for the All Points East festival, which went for an eye-watering £114,666 on Viagogo.
The UK government is currently consulting on regulations that may impose a cap on resale prices, potentially limiting increases to between zero and 30% above the original face value. The review’s conclusions are due in just a few weeks’ time. Viagogo and other secondary ticket platforms would like you to believe these regulations will lead to greater fraud.
In their letter, the artists stated, “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.” They emphasized the need for reforms 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.”
Recent reports indicate that some of the UK’s most significant touts planned a covert meeting aimed at thwarting Labour’s proposed ticket reforms. This has resulted in increased pressure from the music sector for concrete measures to be taken against ticket touting.
“This erodes trust in the live events sector and undermines the efforts of artists and organisers to make shows accessible and affordable.” – The artists (including Radiohead, Dua Lipa, and Coldplay)
Ticket touting is a problem that reaches well beyond the UK’s borders. Touts in overseas markets such as Dubai, Singapore and the United States are charging exorbitant prices. That’s why reports are leaking out regarding these ludicrous demands. This is deeply damaging to the relationship between fans and live events. Consequently, the suede-influence larger fabric and austerity all strains out.
Thousands more touts continue to work with little fear of being shut down. This continues despite some having been criminally persecuted and sent to prison for their behavior. The letter from these 38 artists screams for the kind of basic, systematic change that’s needed in the industry. This industry is facing a severe accessibility crisis.