The gig economy

ANYONE who has ever used Ticketmaster will familiar with its exorbitant fees. Even more outrageously, however, is the way in which its two resale websites, Seatwave and Get Me In, allows tickets to be sold at grossly-inflated prices.

Against that backdrop, it is to be very much welcomed that Ticketmaster has announced that both of these sites are to close down. But it would be naive to think that the company is making this gesture on an entirely voluntary basis.

Only three weeks have passed since the Cabinet approved legislation proposed by Fine Gael TD Noel Rock to make it illegal to sell tickets at above face value. Accordingly, Ticketmaster’s suggestion that its ‘long-term plan’ was always to create a new system rings very hollow indeed.

Still, nobody disputes that this development is good news for everyone who purchases tickets for concerts, sport and other events. The bottom line is that the paying public have been taken advantage of for years – and this is an important step in putting a stop to that.

But it should only be the first step. Just because there has been a positive breakthrough, that shouldn’t mean our legislators should feel they can rest on their laurels. Even after this move, there will still be unscrupulous operators out there ripping off ordinary people. They must be put out of business as well.