Ethical ticket resales up 50% at See Tickets
See Tickets has sold 50,000 tickets through its ticket resale platform Fan-to-Fan in 2019 so far, 25,000 more than in the same period of last year.
Launched in 2017, Fan-to-Fan was the UK’s first integrated face-value ticket resale platform. The service allows customers to resell unwanted tickets at the price they paid for them or less.
“We were the first ticket agency to bring a truly integrated ethical resale site to the market and figures show the service is more in demand than ever,” comments See Tickets CEO Rob Wilmshurst.
“Buyers and sellers want a fair resale platform they can trust and because we only list tickets originally purchased on our site, we can vouch for everything being resold in terms of its validity.”
“Buyers and sellers want a fair resale platform they can trust and because we only list tickets originally purchased on our site, we can vouch for everything being resold in terms of its validity”
See Tickets launched a secure, non-transferable digital ticketing system earlier this year, issuing tickets with dynamically refreshing barcodes that are uniquely tied to the fan’s user account, mobile device and See Tickets app. The feature has been used on tours for artists including Declan McKenna and Bombay Bicycle Club.
See Tickets also created a paperless ticket for Ed Sheeran’s summer shows in conjunction with promoters DHP and Kilimanjaro.
Adam Webb, campaign manager for anti-tout group FanFair Alliance says: “See Tickets have been vocal about their opposition to exploitative secondary ticketing for many years and FanFair has welcomed the steps they have taken to eliminate touting and provide a better customer experience. It’s really encouraging to see ticket buyers embrace Fan-to-Fan in such numbers.”
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Ticketline launches fan-first resale platform Fanticks
UK-based independent ticketing partner Ticketline has announced the launch of Fanticks, a fan-to-fan resale marketplace that enables fans to sell unwanted or spare tickets.
All tickets listed on Fanticks are inspected and verified prior to publication to verify ticket validity and ensure fair promotion. Tickets are price-capped up to 10% above face value.
Both e-tickets and physical tickets can be listed on the platform.Fanticks also provides a secure communication platform for both the buyer and seller to discuss the exchange of tickets using an in-built messaging system.
Tickets sold and distributed by Ticketline can be listed on Fanticks, as well as tickets from all other ticket agents that are qualified on Ticketline’s event database.
“We built Fanticks to provide our customers with an easy, fair and ethical resale platform for both buyers and sellers”
Fanticks additionally caters for buyers looking for tickets for sold out shows. Buyers can set up ticket alerts for specific events and venues when tickets become available.
“We are delighted that we have enhanced our product offerings for our customers with Fanticks,” says Ticketline head of marketing James Lee.
“We built Fanticks to provide our customers with an easy, fair and ethical resale platform for both buyers and sellers to sell unwanted tickets at the face value or less and make sold out events accessible and affordable to fans, and Fanticks delivers on this promise.”
Ticketline’s portfolio of products includes Ticketlight, a self-service ticketing system with reporting, real-time scanning and seating map editor, and the Ticket Network, a customisable ticket sales reward programme for promoters to encourage fans to sell tickets on their behalf.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Vibe Tickets launches new Vibe Verified service
UK-based transparent resale platform Vibe Tickets has launched Vibe Verified, giving buyers the opportunity to distinguish between trusted, verified Vibe sellers and ordinary fan sellers.
Trusted sellers can now sign up to Vibe Verified and list their inventory on Vibe Tickets, using a transparent user profile and adhering to Vibe’s code of conduct. Such sellers will display a ‘Vibe Verified’ badge on their profile, so buyers are aware if they are buying from a fellow fan or a vetted, verified seller.
The company hopes the addition of Vibe Verified and the introduction of vetted sellers to the platform will ensure that supply for tickets always matches demand. The ticketing platform also aims to bring supply to one place, allowing customers to determine the true market value of tickets.
“What’s important to us is to increase supply whilst staying true to our Vibe promise,” says Luke Massie, chief executive and founder of Vibe Tickets. “By bringing ticket supply to one place in an open and transparent way, we’re giving consumers a choice.
“What’s important to us is to increase supply whilst staying true to our Vibe promise”
“We’ve created a dynamic marketplace, a true race to the bottom,” adds Massie. “If someone – fan-seller or Vibe Verified seller – wants to list their tickets for more than face value, they can. It doesn’t mean they will sell them and there will probably be another listing which naturally brings the average price down.”
The Vibe chief executive also refers to the improvement in regulation of ticket resale over the past few years, with the shuttering of Ticketmaster’s secondary ticketing sites Get Me In! and Seat Wave in August and the launching of price-capped ticket resale platforms by Ticketmaster, See Tickets, Eventim UK and AXS last year.
“Vibe Tickets is proud to support these changes and is looking forward to becoming more actively involved in discussions going forward – we believe we have a lot of real insight to offer,” says Massie.
In order for the service to remain absolutely free for fans, all Vibe Verified sellers will be charged a percentage of the cost of all sales they make on the site.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free digest of essential live music industry news, via email or Messenger.
Elton John teams up with Twickets for farewell tour
Sir Elton John has today announced a partnership with fan-to-fan ticket reselling platform Twickets in the run up to his final world tour Farewell Yellow Brick Road.
The Twickets platform provides fans with a space to resell unwanted or spare tickets at no more than its original price. Described by the service as an “ethical” way to resell event tickets, it is hoped the partnership will help “combat the secondary ticketing market” looking to potentially exploit Elton John fans.
The tour, which kicks off on 8 September in Allentown, Philadelphia, will make 300 stops over the next three years, playing to an estimated 7 million fans before 2021. It has already started breaking records, selling 450,000 tickets on its first day of presale and selling out 76 shows instantly, becoming the fastest selling American Express presale ever.
“I plan to bring the passion and creativity that has entertained my fans for decades to my final tour.”
Speaking about the tour, which will mark the end of a 50-year-long career, Sir Elton John says: “Performing live fuels me and I’m ecstatic and humbled to continue to play to audiences across the globe.
“I plan to bring the passion and creativity that has entertained my fans for decades to my final tour. After the tour finishes, I’m very much looking forward to closing off that chapter of my life by saying farewell to life on the road. I need to dedicate more time to raising my children.”
The Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour has already partnered with live music platform Peex on select dates. The company’s wearable concert technology aims to provide concertgoers with an improved, augmented reality version of the show, as well as provide exclusive access to concert-related content.
Tickets for Farewell Yellow Brick Road can be bought and resold using the dedicated Elton John Twickets website.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.