The Government is poised to implement a ban on reselling tickets for live events at a profit. This move is aimed at combating touts and secondary ticketing websites that inflate ticket prices above their face value.
The Labour manifesto had pledged to provide more robust protections to prevent consumers from falling victim to scams or being priced out of events by touts who use automated bots to snatch up tickets in bulk as soon as they are released, only to resell them at exorbitant mark-ups.
While a consultation had considered capping resale prices at up to 30% above face value, recent reports suggest that ministers are leaning towards setting the cap at the original face value, with the possibility of additional fees on top.
The Government has refrained from commenting on these reports, but the anticipated announcement, possibly on Wednesday, comes on the heels of a push by prominent musicians like Coldplay, Dua Lipa, and Radiohead to reduce ticket costs for fans. These artists, along with others such as The Cure’s Robert Smith and Iron Maiden, have advocated for price caps to restore trust in the ticketing system and enhance public access to the arts.
Various industry stakeholders, including Which?, FanFair Alliance, and O2, as well as music and theatre organizations, venues, and ticket retailers, have supported the call for a price cap to combat ticket scalping and prioritize genuine fans.
Live Nation Entertainment, the parent company of Ticketmaster, has endorsed the Government’s initiative to prohibit ticket resale above face value, emphasizing the importance of keeping live events accessible for fans. Conversely, StubHub has cautioned that a price cap could drive ticket transactions to unregulated black markets, posing risks to consumers.
Viagogo has raised concerns about the potential negative impact of price caps based on experiences in other countries, citing higher fraud rates and a shift towards unregulated ticketing platforms.
