It’s not singers drummers and guitarists who should protect fans from the touts.. it is the job of ministers
Wishart lets rip over tickets racket and tells UK Government they must act now
PLAYERS at the top of the music industry have an “industrial scale” relationship with ticket touts to make sure fans are ripped off with maximum efficiency, an MP said yesterday.
Pete Wishart told how large promoters, big venues and ticket resale sites are all connected.
He said they make sure tickets for gigs are hoovered up by touts and then resold on secondary sites owned by the original promoters.
Wishart claimed the industry has created a “vertically integrated model where everybody gets their cut and their share”.
During a Westminster debate yesterday, the SNP MP and former Runrig musician paid tribute to how the Daily Record’s Stub Out the Touts campaign has exposed the extent of the problem.
He said: “The Daily Record and reporter Mark McGivern have pursued this resolutely.
“They reported how the Rolling Stones were actually offered a cash incentive to put their tickets on sale with an agency who have an invidious relationship with secondary sites.
“It is to their immense credit that Sir Mick and Keith Richards turned that down. But doesn’t that demonstrate how far up the chain this goes and the callous disregard for fans from those at the very top of the tree?”
Wishart added: “It is not singers, drummers and guitarists who should be protecting fans – it is the job of ministers.”
The Perth MP detailed how some secondary ticket sites are owned by leading music promoters.
Wishart said Live Nation, the largest music promoters in the world, are merged with Ticketmaster, who operate GetMeIn! and Seatwave – two of the biggest resale sites who flog tickets at vastly inflated prices. Wishart said Live Nation make sure Ticketmaster are the preferred partners for artists and that tickets are snapped up and resold for inflated prices. He added: “It is an out of control, all-consuming, rip-off machine that exists from the artist management and promoter all the way down to the venue and the tout and the unsuspecting fan.
“Quite simply, the ticketing system is broken beyond repair.”
Wishart said StubHub, owned by eBay, have a partnership with AEG, who operate the O2 and Wembley Arena in London.
Wishart said: “By default, this
makes StubHub the ‘official resale partner’ of those venues.”
His biggest criticism was for Viagogo, the Swiss-registered company who, Wishart said, operate in breach of UK consumer law and Advertising Standards Authority rulings.
Wishart said music fans should avoid Viagogo.
He added: “Swimming through shark-infested waters would be easier and safer than trying to buy a ticket for a popular show. It is time to act and reclaim music to make it safe to buy tickets online.” UK Digital Minister Margot James insisted that the Government were coming down hard on resale sites.
Efforts are being made to give tickets unique identifiers that would make rip-off resales difficult.
A ban on automated “bots” that snap up tickets was also being introduced, said James, along with advertising regulations to make prices clear on websites.
She said: “There is no magic bullet to solving the excess of the secondary ticketing market but we are pulling on a number of strands to deal with the issue.
“We must ensure the UK is a place for fans to experience great music.”