The UK government plans to announce a ban on reselling tickets to concerts, sports events, and theater performances above their original purchase price. That’s according to the Financial Times and The Guardian, which both reported on Monday (November 17) that the decision is expected to be announced on Wednesday (November 19). The move marks a more aggressive approach than ministers initially considered. Earlier this year, ministers had considered allowing resales at up to 30% above face value. Instead, the planned legislation will prohibit any markup, although resale platforms will still be allowed to charge service fees subject to caps designed to prevent offsetting the lost profit margins, according to The Guardian. The news outlet reported that the decision delivers on a Labour election manifesto pledge and follows mounting pressure from the entertainment industry. Last week, musicians including Radiohead, Coldplay and Dua Lipa wrote an open letter urging Prime Minister Keir Starmer to protect fans from what they called “extortionate and pernicious” websites used by ticket touts or those who buy several tickets for resale to exploit music fans. Consumer advocacy group Which? and the Football Supporters’ Association also signed the appeal. The proposed rules would reportedly make resale platforms legally liable if sellers on their sites violate the law. Enforcement will fall to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The government is also targeting industrial-scale operations that use bots to purchase large volumes of tickets, with provisions barring anyone from reselling more tickets than they were entitled to buy initially, the FT said. Social media platforms would face the same restrictions, closing what resale companies have argued would become an unregulated gray market if traditional exchanges faced constraints, The Guardian said. “With a price cap on regulated marketplaces, ticket transactions will move to black markets.” Stubhub International spokesperson The government has reportedly rejected a licensing system for resale operators, one option under consideration during the review process. A spokesperson for StubHub International warned: “With a price cap on regulated marketplaces, ticket transactions will move to black markets.” “Evidence shows price caps have repeatedly failed fans, in countries like Ireland and Australia fraud rates are nearly four times higher than in the UK as price caps push consumers towards unregulated sites. 8% in NYSE trading on Monday. Earlier this year, the CMA found that tickets on the resale market typically carry markups exceeding 50%. Citing data from Virgin Media O2, the CMA said ticket touts cost music fans an extra GBP £145 million ($190. 7 million) per year. Last year’s Oasis reunion tour became the subject of frustration for fans and regulators. Which? documented Wembley Stadium tickets listed at £3, 498. A Guardian investigation found professional traders advertising hundreds of Oasis tickets, with three UK-based touts listing dozens of passes worth a combined £26, 000 ($34,196). One Cyprus-based seller offered 1, 596 tickets through StubHub alone, The Guardian reported. In September, the CMA said it had “not found evidence” that Live Nation-Ticketmaster used “dynamic pricing” in the on-sale of Oasis tickets. Dynamic pricing adjusts ticket prices in real time based on demand, and has proven controversial among some concertgoers due to sudden spikes in prices. Meanwhile, the FT reported that the new rules in the UK could cut the average resale ticket price by up to £40 ($53), potentially saving consumers “tens of millions of pounds” annually. Virgin Media O2 research indicates that one in five tickets ends up on resale platforms, with traders selling more than 100 tickets yearly accounting for over 82% of inventory at some events. Music Business Worldwide.
https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/ticket-resales-above-face-value-to-be-banned-by-uk-government-in-crackdown-against-touts/
Ticket resales above face value to be banned by UK government in crackdown on touts
