BLOCK ‘N’ ROLL STARS
VENUES UNITE TO ENFORCE METALLICA TOUTS BAN
MUSIC venues in the UK’s four biggest cities are pledging to enforce rock gods Metallica’s crackdown on ticket touts.
The Record obtained statements from the O2 Arena in London, the Manchester Arena and the Genting Arena in Birmingham that align with the hardline approach of the SSE Hydro in Glasgow.
To get in, fans must produce ID at the venues that matches the original buyer of the ticket and no buyer can hold more than four tickets.
The united approach means supertouts who invested heavily in the Metallica UK tour in October could be out of pocket.
But it also means thousands of fans who turn up with tickets bought on sites such as StubHub, Viagogo, Get Me In! and Seatwave could be turned away.
Two secondary sales sites owned by Metallica promoter Live Nation delisted all sales for the Glasgow gig on October 26 after the Record got involved.
But Get Me In! and Seatwave continued to sell for the other UK gigs, despite knowing that customers buying on their site won’t have the right personal ID to gain entry on the night of gigs.
Disgracefully, the big four resale sites were continuing to sell for the Manchester, London and Birmingham shows last night, with hundreds of tickets available.
Prices had dropped from a minimum of £140 to less than face value for the O2 gigs, as word got out about validity issues and demand appeared to dry up.
Metallica fan Jimmy McDill, from Kilmarnock, said he was disgusted.
The 48-year-old gardener said: “I tried everything to get tickets on presale and then public sale through Ticketmaster but they were gone in minutes.
“I thought I was getting sorted on Ticketmaster but at the very last moment it redirected me to Get Me In! – their reseller partner – where the prices were all hiked up with big commissions on top.
“The cheapest ticket listed was £140. I didn’t know anything at all about needing ID until I read about it in the Record.
“I wasn’t even aware of the difference between Ticketmaster and Get Me In! and you trust the site because Ticketmaster send you there.”
Jimmy said he will probably still travel to Glasgow for the gig if he cannot get a refund or a replacement ticket through Get Me In! – who have a “FanGuard guarantee” which promises: “You will receive valid tickets for your event.”
He added: “I can imagine there will be carnage if hundreds of people turn up with tickets they can’t back up with ID. I think the band could have done this a lot better.
“The problem is that the touts got all the tickets in the first place and sold most of them before people knew there would be issues with the ID.
“The tickets were on sale before the huge stink in London at the Foo Fighters gig, when hundreds were turned away.”
Venues have been faced with the dilemma of allowing all fans with tickets in – and letting the touts defeat the wishes of the band – or face a massive problem on the night when people are turned away.
The Record has spoken to touts who
Fans fear crackdown will leave hundreds left outside gigs
have said they will “walk through” buyers turning up at the venue with the ID used in the primary sale.
That wouldn’t get around the maximum sale of four tickets per person for anyone buying in excess of that number.
A spokesman for the Manchester Arena last night stood firm on their anti-tout stance.
He said: “We support, and will enforce, any initiative made by the artist which ensures only genuine fans gain access to this sold-out event.
“We advise all ticketholders to arrive in plenty of time as, in addition to the
enhanced security checks at the venue, ID checks will also take place.”
The Genting Arena said: “We continue to make every effort to combat touting, and deter those that use the secondary market to prey on event-goers.
“ID checks will be in place for the Metallica concert on October 30 and customers who buy from our primary agent, The Ticket Factory, are notified of this at the time of booking. Details are also listed on the venue’s website.”
An O2 spokesman said: “This show requires the ticket purchaser to bring the payment card that was used to purchase the tickets and photographic ID matching the name on the tickets to gain entry.
“All members of a party in the same booking must enter at the same time as the named booker.”
A spokeswoman for the SSE Hydro previously told us that ID will be carefully checked, which resulted in Glasgow tickets being withdrawn by Seatwave and Get Me In!
The Record repeatedly tried to extract an explanation for the sales quagmire from Live Nation and component sales arms Ticketmaster, Get Me In! and Seatwave. They have refused to comment.