IT’S TICKETY BOO
Outrage as Hydro boss insists music fans aren’t being ripped off because they’re HAPPY to pay over odds
THE boss of Scotland’s biggest music venue says “true fans” are willing to pay hundreds of pounds to touts to see their favourite acts.
Glasgow Hydro chief executive Peter Duthie claimed fans aren’t being ripped off – despite many being forced to fork out huge sums to secure briefs from “secondary ticketing” sites.
He told a Glasgow Chamber of Commerce event: “If somebody pays £500 for Ed Sheeran tickets, I’m guessing they are a true fan.
“It’s just whether you can afford it. I don’t accept the ripped-off idea. You’re making a conscious decision to buy them.”
The Record’s Stub Out the Touts campaign is calling for stiffer laws to protect fans and keep tickets away from money-grabbing touts. Niall Barclay, of the non-profit ticket exchange Scarlet Mist, described Duthie’s comments as “absolute nonsense”.
He added: “This is naivety and ignorance. You would expect people like him to be taking a lead on this issue.”
Duthie also claimed touts go through the same process as fans and just “get lucky”.
But Reg Walker – the UK’s top authority on ticket touts – blasted Duthie’s claims as “astonishing”. Walker, of the Iridium Consultancy, said: “The chief executive has obviously failed to take on board that Parliament is finding it necessary to pass additional legislation to ban the aggressive computer software that harvests hundreds of tickets at a time for venues like the SSE Hydro.
“To write off things as touts simply getting lucky is just risible. If they are that lucky, they would be winning the lottery every week.”