FEAT welcomes tougher resale legislation
The Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing (FEAT) has given a cautious welcome to the news that the EU has reached a provisional political agreement on the Digital Services Act (DSA), designed to ensure secondary ticketing marketplaces act responsibly.
The text was agreed on Saturday (23 April) in Brussels, after a marathon 16 hours of discussions between policy-makers.
The DSA contains is expected to include regulation meaning that ticket touts will only be able to list tickets after providing essential information, which marketplaces must make efforts to verify. Secondary marketplaces will also be obliged to conduct random checks for tickets sold illegally, while measures designed to panic buyers, such as pop-ups claiming several people are viewing the same ticket, will be banned.
Additionally, search engines such as Google are understood to face new responsibilities.
“We hope the new requirements for vetting traders and publishing basic information about the seller will enable fans and event organisers to make informed decisions”
“We cautiously welcome news of measures to be placed on secondary ticketing marketplaces to clean up the Wild West in which they have operated so far,” says FEAT director Sam Shemtob. “The devil will be in the detail, but we hope the new requirements for vetting traders and publishing basic information about the seller will enable fans and event organisers to make informed decisions.”
FEAT has spent two years engaging with the EU over the DSA, culminating in arranging an open letter signed by more than 130 representatives from across Europe’s live sector, calling for the EU to introduce tougher laws to combat online ticket touting.
The text of the DSA will need to be finalised at technical level, before both Parliament and Council give their formal approval. It will come into force 20 days after its publication in the EU Official Journal. Big Tech firms will then have four months to prepare for the rules, while companies with fewer than 45 million users will have 15 months or until 1 January 2024.
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SJM Concerts partners with Twickets
Twickets has been appointed the official resale partner of SJM Concerts’ Gigs and Tours.
The partnership with SJM, one of the UK’s leading concert promoters, will provide a fan-friendly resale option for all tickets purchased through Gigsandtours.com, allowing users to list tickets for sale via Twickets’ website or mobile app at no more than the price originally paid.
Launched in 2016, Twickets has since served as the official resale platform for leading artists including Ed Sheeran, Stormzy, Foo Fighters, Arctic Monkeys, Mumford & Sons and Elton John. It now attracts more than three million users to its ticket marketplace every year.
“Providing a safe, secure and easy way to resell tickets is best practice”
“We continue to strive to not only offer our customers an efficient and straightforward purchasing experience, but also help them when things don’t go to plan,” explains SJM Concerts’ Matt Woolliscroft. “Providing a safe, secure and easy way to resell tickets is best practice and yet another step Gigsandtours.com is taking to innovate and improve concertgoing.”
Twickets founder Richard Davies says: “The UK is in the midst of a market shift away from rip-off secondary ticketing platforms and towards consumer-friendly resale services. I am proud Twickets is at the forefront of this change, and delighted we can bring our expertise in resale to such an important player in the UK music scene. Our goal is always to improve the ticket buying experience, fill venues and keep customers happy.”
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Promoters buy into Oz ticket marketplace Tixel
Australian ticket marketplace Tixel has raised A$1.5m ($1.2m) in a funding round that includes a number of leading concert businesses and music investors.
Promoters Unified Music Group and I Oh You, labels Rose Avenue and Future Classic and investment firms Alberts and Galileo Ventures are among those who participated in the round, with Alberts CEO David Albert also set to join Tixel’s board of directors.
The funding will be put towards growing the Tixel platform and expand its product suite for event organisers, the Melbourne-based company says.
Launched in 2018, Tixel offers a ‘fair-price’ marketplace (capped at 10% above face value) for fans to buy and sell tickets to events. Most of the company’s inventory is currently in Australia and New Zealand, though it expects growth in the UK and US as in-person events return outside Australasia.
“The entire music and live entertainment industry has suffered beyond measure this last year, and our team is incredibly grateful to have been able to weather the storm,” says Zac Leigh, co-founder and CEO of Tixel. “We’re feeling optimistic about the steep uptick in demand we’re seeing on Tixel from fans wanting to see their favourite musicians, artists, comedians and sports stars.
“Our investment partners … know that a safe and honest place for fans to buy and to resell tickets is a critical need”
“Our investment partners share this optimism and know that a safe and honest place for fans to buy and to resell tickets is a critical need both today, as our plan-making remains fluid, and into the future.”
“At the heart of every investment we make is the goal to back pioneers who share our vision for a better tomorrow,” comments Albert. “A core pillar of our impact thesis is contributing to a vibrant culture. Tixel is a great example of this and sits within our arts, music and entertainment theme. It helps to bring fairness to a market that can attract exorbitant pricing, and safety to transactions that have the potential to be fraudulent.
“Having an independent ethical ticket resale marketplace in Australia can mean more fans at shows, more bar and merch sales for our venues and, importantly, an all-round better experience for everyone involved.”
Other capped-price ticket resale services active in Australia include UK-based Twickets, which launched there in 2017, and Ticketek Marketplace, which allows Ticketek customers to resell unwanted tickets.
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Eventim rolls out fanSALE platform in Scandinavia
CTS Eventim has launched its face-value ticket resale platform, fanSALE, in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
FanSALE is the first fully digital face-value platform in Scandinavia, and is already in use in Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Finland and Brazil. In both Norway and Denmark, it is illegal to resell tickets for a profit.
When tickets are resold on the fanSALE platform, the original tickets are cancelled and new tickets issued in a new order, guaranteeing the new tickets and allowing for the resale of personal tickets when people can no longer attend an event.
“With fanSALE, Eventim is taking an important step in Scandinavia to help fans buy and sell tickets safely and legally”
“With fanSALE, Eventim is taking an important step in Scandinavia to help fans buy and sell tickets safely and legally amongst themselves,” says Jens Arnesen, CEO of Eventim Scandinavia.
“FanSALE guarantees that tickets cannot be sold for more than the original ticket price. At the same time, buyers are guaranteed genuine, valid tickets to the event.”
FanSALE is one of a number of capped-price resale services offered by the major international ticketing companies, along with See Tickets’ Fan-to-Fan, AXS’s Marketplace, Ticketmaster ticket exchange and Ticketek Marketplace.
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Twickets partners with Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s Palladium
Via a new partnership with Twickets, Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s LW Theatres has became the first theatre operator in the UK to offer consumer friendly face-value ticket resale across its venues.
Tickets purchased via LW Theatres box offices can now be resold via Twickets’ website or mobile app for no more than the price originally paid, offering an alternative to traditional secondary ticketing sites.
LW Theatres, formerly Really Useful Theatres, operates seven London venues: Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Cambridge Theatre, Adelphi Theatre, Gillian Lynne Theatre, the Other Palace, Her Majesty’s Theatre and the 2,286-capacity London Palladium, which is popular live music venue.
Launched in 2015, Twickets has worked with artists including Adele, Stormzy, Ed Sheeran, Arctic Monkeys, Mumford and Sons and the 1975, and facilitated the ethical resale of more than half a million fans’ tickets. The LW partnership is its first official tie-in with a UK theatre group.
“Our goal is always to improve the ticket-buying experience, fill venues and keep customers happy”
Rebecca Kane Burton, CEO of LW Theatres, says: “We continue to strive to not only offer our customers an incredible experience, but also help them when things don’t go to plan. Providing a safe, secure and easy way to resell tickets is best practice and yet another step LW Theatres is taking to innovate and improve theatre-going.”
“The UK is in the midst of a market shift away from rip-off secondary ticketing platforms and towards capped consumer friendly resale services,” Twickets’ founder, Richard Davies, adds.
“I am proud Twickets is at the forefront of this change, and delighted we can extend our service to theatre-lovers via this groundbreaking partnership with LW Theatres. Our goal is always to improve the ticket-buying experience, fill venues and keep customers happy.”
In addition to its UK base, Twickets is active in Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, Spain and the US.
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Switzerland’s Ticketcorner announces fanSALE launch
Switzerland’s leading ticketing platform, Ticketcorner, has become the latest ticket seller to announce the launch of a face-value resale platform.
FanSALE will launch in spring 2019 , and sees Ticketcorner “taking a stand against the dishonest secondary market and exaggerated resale prices”, says the CTS Eventim-owned company.
FanSALE has long been active in Eventim’s home country, Germany, and launched in the UK in January this year. On launch, the Swiss site will be located at fansale.ch, which currently redirects to the German fanSALE.
While fanSALE UK allows resale prices of up to 10% above face value, tickets may only be listed on fanSALE Switzerland for the original price, with Ticketcorner charging a fee to buyers.
“FanSALE has no commercial purpose. “We’re doing this is to stop the dishonest practices of the secondary market”
In addition to fanSALE UK, the launch of fanSALE in Switzerland follows that of See Tickets’ Fan-to-Fan, AXS’s Marketplace and, most recently, Ticketmaster’s new ticket exchange, as well as the soon-to-launch Ticketek Marketplace in Australia.
“Our new platform, fanSALE, has no commercial purpose,” says Andreas Angehrn, CEO of Ticketcorner. “The reason we’re doing this is to stop the dishonest practices of the secondary market, to guarantee the authenticity of the tickets to our customers and make sure they get a fair deal.
“In the coming years, we intend to establish fanSALE as the leading, and also the fairest, secondary market ticketing platform in Switzerland.”
According to the International Ticketing Yearbook 2018, Ticketcorner is the largest entertainment ticket seller in Switzerland, with Starticket (recently the target of an unsuccessful takeover bid by Ticketcorner) second and Ticketmaster Switzerland third.
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Ticketek to launch price-capped ticket exchange
TEG, the parent company of leading Australasian ticket agency Ticketek, has announced the launch of Ticketek Marketplace, a price-capped ticket exchange for Australian consumers.
Ticketek Marketplace, set to go live later this month, will serve as an online portal to resell tickets previously purchased from Ticketek, with a single Ticketek user ID and login applying across both it and Ticketek’s primary platform.
The Ticketek announcement follows the launch of several similar solutions by its European cousins, including See Tickets’ Fan-to-Fan, CTS Eventim’s FanSALE, AXS’s Marketplace and, most recently, Ticketmaster’s upcoming replacement for Get Me In! and Seatwave.
Like FanSALE and AXS Marketplace, Ticketek Marketplace will cap resale prices at a maximum of 10% above face value.
“Many sports and entertainment fans have fallen victim of resale scalping practices based on highly inflated ticket prices, misleading marketing, a lack of transparency and often outright fraud,” says TEG CEO Geoff Jones (pictured).
“The launch of Ticketek Marketplace is another important step in protecting fans and ensuring the integrity of ticket transactions”
“TEG believes that fans want a secondary ticket marketplace they can trust, where the authenticity of tickets is guaranteed and where the prices are fair. Ticketek Marketplace delivers these requirements to fans.
“The launch of Ticketek Marketplace is another important step in protecting fans and ensuring the integrity of ticket transactions.”
According to the International Ticketing Yearbook 2018, Ticketek is, with Ticketmaster Australia, one of the ‘big two’ primary ticketing platforms in Australasia. TEG also owns promoters TEG Live and TEG Dainty, Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney and data firm TEG Analytics.
“We are delighted to offer a service for all events and fans through the launch of Ticketek Marketplace,” comments Ticketek Australia MD Cameron Hoy. “This is a consumer-led, price-capped and ethical ticket exchange service for fans with a genuine need to buy or sell on the secondary market.
“Over several years Ticketek has worked with industry bodies, venue partners, promoters and governments to educate fans about the dangers of resale scalpers. We commend the steps taken by state governments to legislate against these unscrupulous operators.”
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Eventim UK launches FanSALE resale platform
FanSALE, CTS Eventim’s ‘fair value’ ticket resale platform, has launched in the UK.
Coming amid a growing backlash against for-profit secondary ticketing, FanSALE.co.uk – Eventim UK’s first resale service – aims to ensure “tickets get into the hands of genuine fans”, says the company, and prevents resale at a “highly inflated price”, allowing “genuine fans” to sell unwanted tickets.
All tickets are verified against Eventim UK’s ticketing database, and buyers are able to view the block, seat row and seat number before purchasing. An integration with UPS also enables customers to track delivery of the ticket from the seller’s pick-up point to the delivery address.
Resale prices are capped at +10% of face value.
“FanSALE is about fan-first thinking,” says Dale Ballentine, Eventim UK’s director of development. “We want to make sure fans get tickets for a fair price. We know that sometimes fans cannot attend their event as planned.
“FanSALE is about fan-first thinking”
“FanSALE will help solve these problems and ensure tickets are not sold at an extortionate price, making events more accessible for the real fans.”
FanSALE UK follows the launch a similar initiative by Eventim rival See Tickets, Fan-to-Fan, as well as established face-value ticket exchanges such as Twickets.
Adam Webb, of anti-touting campaign group FanFair Alliance, comments: “Research commissioned by FanFair last year highlighted that the majority of music fans would like a mechanism to resell their tickets if they can no longer attend an event. They don’t want to profit – just to recoup their costs in a safe and efficient environment.
“It has been hugely positive to see a growing number of responsible ticketing companies, like Eventim, listen to consumers and move in this direction, and we hope more will follow in 2018.”
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Eventbrite partners with Twickets
Face-value resale is now available for Eventbrite-ticketed events in the UK, Australia and New Zealand as a result of a new partnership with Twickets.
The deal, announced this morning, will give promoters the option to opt into the Twickets service, giving customers the option to buy and sell spare tickets at face value by logging into their Eventbrite account on the Twickets platform.
It is the latest such partnership for UK-based Twickets, which is also active in Spain and the US, following deals with the Ticket Factory, Frontier Touring and DEAG’s myticket.co.uk.
Eventbrite customer Rhythm and Vines, New Zealand’s longest-running music festival, will be one of the first to use the new Twickets integration for its 2017 edition on 29–31 December.
“Partnering with ethical peer-to-peer exchange platforms like Twickets enables our promoters to allow their fans to easily sell their unwanted tickets at a fair price”
Twickets founder Richard Davies, says: “It’s great to be partnering with Eventbrite, who share our commitment to providing fair ticket resale. We are happy to be bringing face-value resale to more events through this partnership, giving eventgoers the peace of mind that they are not only getting a fair deal, but also that they will be guaranteed entry to the event itself with an officially reissued ticket.
“We’re also very excited to be bringing Twickets to new audiences in New Zealand and look forward to our future in the country.”
“There are a number of technology solutions that we have already put in place to help our larger events prevent unauthorised resales of their tickets,” adds Joel Crouch, general manager for Eventbrite in the UK and Republic of Ireland. “At the same time, we want stay true to the fans, who often have perfectly valid reasons to sell their tickets. Partnering with ethical peer-to-peer exchange platforms like Twickets enables our promoters to allow their fans to easily sell their unwanted tickets at a fair price, and assures the buyers of those tickets that they have obtained official, authorised tickets that will get them in.”
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