Blitz on touts hits top Sheer

ED Sheeran’s blitz on touts is the biggest seen in the UK.

More than £1million will be clawed back from Viagogo and the parasite touts who infest the rogue site.

Sheeran is striking a massive blow for fans – but he can’t do it alone.

Already we have seen others in the entertainment industry step forward with a ban on reselling tickets for profit, coupled with a demand for fans to bring ID that matches the name on the tickets.

Noel Gallagher, Iron Maiden, Amy MacDonald and Adele are among the small minority of artists going out of their way to make life tough for touts.

And Arctic Monkeys’ firm decree that touting is banned has already seen very few of their tickets get snaffled by the scalpers. They have pledged to enforce their ban as rigidly as Sheeran – a vital part of the process.

These artists should be commended but it is high time that every single musician adopts terms and conditions that protect fans as a starting point in the ticketing process.

It’s a grind to implement for the promoters and artists and it can eat into some profits.

But if the giants of the industry can set the right example, tout-busting tactics can soon become the norm. It’s all about education. If touts are conditioned to play by the rules – hammering them in the pocket via cancelled tickets – they will simply avoid getting involved in the kind of pickle that has stung them during this Sheeran tour.

If fans get the message that the tickets on sites such as Viagogo won’t get them in, they will stop buying them. And artists can learn that their relationship with real fans can be strengthened if they protect them from touts.

Sheeran is doing the hard yards but tout-busting will get easier as all the main players get the message.