A sold-out show is good news for an artist and bad news for anyone still hunting a ticket, because that is exactly when touts move in. New research shared with the Guardian found resale listings swarming small venues in Greater Manchester, and the UK government now says it wants to speed up a law that would make profiting from resale illegal.
What the research found
According to the Guardian, the music industry group FanFair Alliance examined 300 events across 13 venues where tickets were listed on Viagogo, including Band On The Wall, Gorilla, YES, Rebellion, New Century and the White Hotel. All were advertised at significantly over cost price. Some listings did not show information about the seller, and others appeared to be speculative, meaning touts listed tickets they did not yet have. The most expensive listing found was £5,899 for Mica Millar's show at New Century, a 19,728% markup.
FanFair Alliance found that three touts, based in Latvia, North America and Germany, were behind more than 75% of the listings. Viagogo disputed that figure, said actual sale prices were much lower than the listings, and said its policies prohibit speculative listings.
What the government is planning
Under the plan described by TicketNews, tickets generally could not be resold for more than their original cost, including unavoidable fees. There would also be a separate cap on resale platform fees, limits on reselling more tickets than a buyer was entitled to purchase, and compliance duties for marketplaces. Creative Industries Minister Ian Murray said at a UK Music event at Labour Party conference that he hoped the draft bill could progress "quicker than we initially intended," though he gave no publication date.
The Guardian reports that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has assembled a bill team that is looking at how to stop touts and platforms simply moving offshore. A DCMS spokesperson said draft legislation would come "in this parliamentary session." Until it passes, reselling concert tickets above face value remains legal in the UK.
What this means for fans
For this week's UK shows, including the sold-out Manchester night of the I Believe In Ghosts Tour, the advice is simple. Buy only from official sellers or the artist's approved resale, be wary of listings that do not name a seller, and never pay a stranger for a ticket that has not been issued yet. The law may change soon, but it has not changed yet.