CALL FOR TICKET TOUTS TO FACE THE HEAT
Call for ticket platforms to face heat after court verdict ED SHEERAN’S MANAGER ON LANDMARK TICKET TOUT CASE
ED Sheeran’s manager has called for a major probe into ticketing platforms after a landmark case saw two notorious touts jailed.
Stuart Camp was a key witness against Peter Hunter and partner David Smith, giving damning evidence in their trial at Leeds Crown Court about the huge scale of their fraud.
After Hunter was sentenced to four years over the offences this week and Smith was given 30 months, Camp said it was clear the primary and secondary sales platforms that made millions from touted tickets should be scrutinised over the way they allowed – and continue to allow – fraud to take place.
The music guru, who waged a three-year war against touts, said Sheeran was delighted that his hard work has been
vindicated and that fans are now better protected against abuses.
Camp said: “The decision by the jury and the sentence handed down by the judge throws down a marker to touts that says this kind of behaviour won’t be tolerated.
“Hopefully it will lead to further investigation into the platforms that facilitated this.”
Shape of You singer Sheeran, the world’s biggest touring star, was tuned into the anti-tout drive from the start after being appalled that some tickets for a charity gig he was performing for free were being flogged for £7000 each. Camp, whose calls for action today echo views of the FanFair Alliance pressure group, said: “I spoke to Ed about the verdict and he was really happy.”
Tickets acquired by Hunter and Smith’s BZZ Ltd company flowed from primary sites to secondary sites in huge numbers, with each sale achieving commissions, which could be several times greater on the tout sites.
The touts made at least £11million and the sites have made many times more dealing with similar criminal enterprises. In many thousands of cases, secondary sites like StubHub and Viagogo allowed touts to sell on tickets for huge mutual profit.
Live Nation, the world’s biggest entertainment company, allowed masses of tickets to be bought via its primary site Ticketmaster, then resold by touts on its toxic resale sites Get Me In! and Seatwave, both of which have now been shut down.
Camp said he was delighted at the way the Leeds case has established the criminality in using bank and credit cards of friends and family to enable the fraud.
He said: “Using multiple cards and identities is 100 per cent fraud, so this isn’t just a question of morality. “There has to be further investigation. I don’t think the Viagogos and StubHubs of this world should be resting easy as there is a chance that they could be seen to be profiting from illegal activity at the very least.”
Camp urged more big artists to follow Sheeran’s lead.
He said: “There’s a bit of frustration. There are people we work with in the industry who try to clamp down on this behaviour and there’s others who don’t seem to give it any thought, despite the fact they can see their fans being ripped off.”
A Viagogo spokesman said: “We don’t believe that anyone should be using software to gain an unfair advantage when buying tickets.”
A spokesman for StubHub said: “If we are made aware of evidence of illegal activity, we ban the seller and remove their listings pending further internal investigation.”
No one from Ticketmaster got back to us.
The decision by the jury throws down a marker
STUART CAMP APPLAUDS JAIL SENTENCES FOR TOUTS