HOW RECORD WAGED WAR ON THE SHADY SWINDLERS
BY MARK McGIVERN
28/5/2016
The Record’s campaign against touts explodes into action when we discover that Scottish tout Andrew Newman, a wrestling fan, has made millions by harvesting tickets using computer trickery – then sells them on Get Me In!
12/11/16
Our expose of Canadian Julien Lavallee shapes perceptions on the greed of touts. He tells us how he pays venues for an allocation of the best seats – then sticks them up in bulk on secondary sites.
22/2/17
We expose tout Thomas Craig, an SFA referee and sports coach who more than doubles his regular salary by selling on Get Me In!
24/2/17
Our attention focuses on the SSE Hydro, whose website is actively driving fans towards Get Me In! after gigs sell out in minutes. The reputation of The Hydro – owned by taxpayers – is exposed by the bond with Get Me In!
12/3/17
Our breakdown of the flow of tickets from Ticketmaster to Get Me In! shows how touted tickets make a 3000 per cent profit for Live Nation, the parent company of both sites.
22/3/17
The Record takes the argument to Parliament, as an invited witness at the inquiry by the culture media and sport select committee. We state that we want a 10 per cent cap on ticket resale and call for sites such as Get Me In! and Seatwave to be shut down.
3/4/17
We tell of the “Family Fortunes” scam, in which Andrew Newman harvests tickets using the identities of his friends, family and staff, with masses of credit cards, to make millions. This model is favoured by many supertouts. We ask Ticketmaster: “Why won’t you blacklist supertouts?”
11/9/17
Julien Lavallee is exposed in the Paradise
Papers as a tax dodger. Canadian documentary reveals massive scale of his ”friends and family” operations.
18/9/17
Scottish Rugby ditch tout site Viagogo after the Record expose how fans are being charged 17 times face value for tickets.
27/9/17
Get Me In! de-list Metallica tickets after the Record highlight how the band’s anti-tout terms and conditions are being abused by touts and tout sites.
17/3/18
We reveal that Rolling Stones tickets for SSE Hydro and other venues are being flogged for £259 on Get Me In! – despite Ticketmaster still holding face value tickets. GMI pay Google to get to the top of pay-per-click ad listings.
23/4/18
Arctic Monkeys manager Ian McAndrew tells the Daily Record that the rogue site Viagogo should be shut down by the Government, as the band launch an anti-tout ticketing strategy.
4/6/18
We tell of Ed Sheeran’s hugely successful blitz on touts, which forces Get Me In! and Seatwave to agree not to list his tickets. The world’s biggest live star tells the Record: “This is just the beginning.”
27/6/18
Global tout platform StubHub are ditched by the O2 in London, the only venue in the world that’s busier than the SSE Hydro.
Owners AEG, Live Nation’s global rivals, announce an ethical resale operation, with a 10 per cent cap, putting massive pressure on Ticketmaster.
7/7/18
We tell how Ticketmaster’s five-year deal with the SSE Hydro expires next month – and our stories mean the contract, with the toxic link to Get Me In!, cannot be justifiably renewed. Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken admits that crunch talks will take place on the deal.
6/8/18
Tickets for Sir Paul McCartney’s gig at the SSE Hydro are selling for £650 on Ticketmaster’s “platinum” scheme. The industry and fans now wait to see if this strategy is used to replace revenue lost by Live Nation’s closure of secondary sites.
13/8/18
Ticketmaster announce that Get Me In! and Seatwave are to close – with ethical, face value reselling to be rolled out in October.