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Chris Bryant has issued a warning to secondary ticketing platforms and called for "openness" around dynamic pricing
By James Hanley on 25 Oct 2024
UK culture minister Chris Bryant has vowed that “change is coming” on secondary ticketing during a parliamentary debate.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to introduce new legislation to cap ticket resale as part of the Labour Party manifesto, with the UK government set to launch a consultation into the market imminently.
The subject was discussed at Westminster Hall yesterday (24 October) in a hearing instigated by Labour and Co-operative MP Emma Foody.
“The issue profoundly affects music and sport fans, event-goers and the integrity of our live entertainment industry, but it appears to be inadequately addressed by current regulatory frameworks,” said Foody. “People understand that they will not always get a ticket to the show, gig or game, but they feel a real sense of injustice at the scale of secondary ticketing platforms, with tickets often appearing just moments after people have attempted to purchase them.
“While allowing a space for those tickets to be resold is important, it is also important that that is not to the detriment of consumers.”
“There is no point bringing forward new laws if we cannot enforce them”
Bryant gave an idea of the timescale involved in any legislation, but stressed that a key matter going forward would be enforcement.
“There is no point bringing forward new laws if we cannot enforce them,” he said. “We made manifesto commitments during the general election that we are absolutely determined to implement.
“As for when they will be implemented in legislation, we have had one King’s Speech; there will be another one coming along. I do not want to tell the Leader of the House precisely who will have what Bills at what time, because I might not stay in my post if I keep doing that, but if there is a Bill at some point, we will have to ensure that we sort out the enforcement issue. That is one element on which we will be consulting.
“We want to make sure that every single element of the legislation that we eventually bring forward works, does what it says on the tin and is able to be enforced.”
Bryant said a consultation would be launched “in the very near future”.
“I do not want to completely ban people from selling tickets,” he added. “If someone has bought four tickets but suddenly only two people can go, because somebody is ill or they have to change the dates, it is perfectly legitimate that they should be able to sell the tickets on.
“They might also want to be able to recoup not only the cost of the tickets themselves but some additional costs. That is one of the things we want to consult on, and what would be a suitable cap. I note the point that has been made about a level of 20%, which some people think is too high. Some people think that 10% would be too high; some people think that it would be too low. We need to make sure we get the level right.”
“I want openness in dynamic pricing. People should be able to understand from the very beginning if that is the process they are entering into”
Last month, the government responded to the Oasis reunion tour sale controversy by saying that it would be adding the use of dynamic pricing into the consultation.
“I want openness in dynamic pricing,” he said. “People should be able to understand from the very beginning if that is the process they are entering into.
“There are versions of dynamic pricing that do work, and we do not want to ban those. I would argue that the early-bird tickets… are a perfectly legitimate part of the whole equation. They sometimes bring money into venues early on, and we do not want to ban that.”
Labour MP Sharon Hodgson, who has long campaigned for regulation of the secondary ticketing market, first introduced her private members’ bill on the topic back in 2010. She said the change in government had created a “watershed opportunity to create the change we desperately need”.
“Change is coming, so they should start getting ready for it, because that is what we are determined to deliver”
Recent research by O2 and YouGov indicated that ticket touts are costing music fans in the UK an extra £145 million (€174m) a year. And referencing the successful prosecution of two internet ticket touts for fraudulent trading in 2020, Hodgson noted the resale platforms faced no such sanctions in relation to the case.
“They kept their cumulative 25% service fees from the illegal transactions – if we do the numbers, we see that means millions of pounds – and they continue to profit from further illicit trading,” she said. “Where are all the illegal proceeds of crime? Why have they never been recovered?”
Hodgson added that legislation to outlaw resale for profit or to cap resale prices had worked well in other countries.
“Ireland saw a large drop in fraud after it implemented a version of – guess what? My private members’ bill,” she said. “For the upcoming Oasis world tour, the only shows for which tickets are not being touted on Viagogo, StubHub and Gigsberg are the two at Croke Park in Dublin.
“This is a golden opportunity to ensure that UK audiences receive similar protections and enjoy a capped, consumer-friendly and ethical resale market that works in their interests.”
Bryant concluded: “I say to all the people that I have referred to – Gigsberg, Viagogo, StubHub, Ticketmaster and all the rest – that change is coming, so they should start getting ready for it, because that is what we are determined to deliver.”
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