The price of resale tickets could be capped under plans to stop the public being “fleeced” by professional touts, the government has announced.
The limit could range from the cost of the original ticket to a 30% uplift, with a consultation to be launched on the specifics of the measure.
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Restricting the number of tickets resellers can list to the maximum they are allowed to purchase on the primary market is another option being considered.
The proposed changes come after concert sales for artists including Taylor Swift were marred by professional touts reselling at heavily inflated prices.
Others have been caught out by a lack of transparency over the system of dynamic pricing, which left Oasis fans watching the cost of some standard tickets more than double from £148 to £355 as they waited in the queue.
Ministers have already promised a dynamic pricing review, with the latest measures aimed at stopping touts “hoarding tickets and reselling at heavily inflated prices”, the culture department said.
There has long been concerns about rip-off ticket resales for events, with high-profile artists like Ed Sheeran pushing for more regulation.
According to analysis by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), typical mark-ups on tickets sold second hand are more than 50%, while investigations by Trading Standards have uncovered evidence of seats going for up to six times their original price.
Ed Sheeran has campaigned for a crackdown on touts. Pic: Reuters
Last year, Virgin Media O2 estimated that ticket touts cost music fans an extra £145 million per year.
The proposals announced today will apply to music concerts, as well as live sport and other events, delivering on a Labour manifesto commitment to make the system fairer.
DJ Fatboy Slim said it was “great to see money being put back into fans pockets instead of resellers” and he is “fully behind” the proposals.
Dame Caroline Dinenage, the chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said the proposals “would go some way to help address the perverse incentives that are punishing music fans”.
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However she urged ministers to go further and launch a fan-led review of music, to look at how the industry could better support struggling small venues and fledgling artists.
Other proposals under the ticket tout crackdown include new obligations so that resale platforms are legally responsible for the accuracy of what is advertised by third parties on their sites.
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Professional sellers often advertise false information about their identity or key details of the ticket, especially for events where the organiser has imposed restrictions on re-sales, a report by the CMA in 2021 found.
The watchdog has also raised concern about “speculative selling” – when touts advertise seats they haven’t yet bought, cash in on the proceeds upfront and hope to secure a ticket later to fulfil the order.
The government also wants to bring in stronger fines and a new licensing regime for re-sale platforms to increase enforcement of protections for consumers.
Trading Standards can already issue fines of up to £5,000 for ticketing rule breaches and the consultation will look into whether this cap should be increased.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: “The chance to see your favourite musicians or sports team live is something all of us enjoy and everyone deserves a fair shot at getting tickets – but for too long fans have had to endure the misery of touts hoovering up tickets for resale at vastly inflated prices.
“As part of our Plan for Change, we are taking action to strengthen consumer protections, stop fans getting ripped off and ensure money spent on tickets goes back into our incredible live events sector, instead of into the pockets of greedy touts.”
