A Philippines senator has tabled a new bill promising stiff penalties for ticket touts including fines and jail terms

The Southeast Asian country hosted gigs by Coldplay and Dua Lipa in 2024, as well as Filipina-American singer Olivia Rodrigo’s biggest show to date, drawing more than 2.1 million fans across 154 concerts overall.

But senator Mark Villar warns that the increased demand has led to challenges “including the proliferation of ticket scalping or the practice of reselling admission tickets at an inflated or predatory price”.

Villar says the trend undermines “the consumers’ right to fair access to entertainment scenes” as well as “encouraging price gouging”, and has filed the Anti-Ticket Scalping Act. The bill seeks to prohibit touting in the country “to protect consumers from exploitation and guarantee fair access to events of their favourite artists or performers”.

Under the legislation, resale of tickets for more than 10% above face value would be banned.

“We filed this bill to stop or curb the worsening scalping in the country that is taking advantage of our fellow concertgoers or avid fans,” says Villar. It is no longer reasonable for these scalpers to charge inhumane prices for concert and event tickets.

“Our goal is to provide fair access to fans and concertgoers who truly desire to go to concerts at a reasonable price. They do not deserve the unrestrained exploitation of scalpers. Every fan and every Filipino deserves to enjoy concerts without being extorted by scammers.”

“These scalpers are scammers and we will not allow them to increase in number and continue to deceive Filipinos”

There is currently no specific law criminalising touting in the Philippines at a national level. However, the bill aims to prohibit the “offering, hoarding, selling, distributing, buying, dealing in, disposing of, or otherwise acquiring admission tickets for entertainment events, without written permission from the authorised event producer, organiser, and distributor”.

In addition, financing, managing, or operating ticket scalping activities “on a large scale” will also be penalised.

“As a prevention measure, event ticketing, event production and event service entities will also be required to publish or post reminders against scalping on their premises or websites,” says Villar. “They are also ordered to adopt and implement internal policy guidelines and mechanisms to prevent scalping activities among their employees, contractors and agents.”

According to the bill, anyone convicted of ticket scalping will be fined Php 100,000 (€1,673) and/or six months in prison for the first offence. The punishment could then increase to Php 500,000 (€8,364) and/or three years’ jail for the third and subsequent offences.

“In addition to the company, directors, members, officers and employees involved in scalping can also be held liable,” adds Villar. “We will actively promote and fight for the enactment of this bill against these scalpers and to give our countrymen fair access to concerts and events. These scalpers are scammers and we will not allow them to increase in number and continue to deceive Filipinos.”

An in-depth report on secondary ticketing regulation around the world will appear in the upcoming ILMC edition of IQ Magazine.

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.

Indian ticketing giant and promoter BookMyShow (BMS) says it may cancel tickets sold on the black market for Coldplay’s upcoming Mumbai run.

The British band are bringing their Music of the Spheres Tour to the city’s DY Patil Sports Stadium for three sold out nights in January 2025. However, police are investigating an alleged touting scam in relation to the shows after tickets – priced between 2,500 rupees (€27) to 12,000 rupees (€129) – quickly reappeared on secondary ticketing platforms at huge mark-ups.

Lawyer Amit Vyas subsequently filed a criminal complaint against BMS and others, accusing the company of colluding with resale sites to scalp tickets, while Mumbai police’s Economic Offences Wing reportedly questioned an executive from BMS’ parent firm Big Tree Entertainment as part of a preliminary inquiry.

BMS denies any wrongdoing, maintaining its opposition to illegal ticketing practices, and says it has lodged a formal First Information Report (FIR) – a written document prepared by police when they receive information about a criminal offence.

“This action follows our initial complaint filed proactively with the Mumbai Police on September 23, 2024, addressing these concerns much before any formal complaint was raised against us,” a spokesperson for the firm tells IQ. “BookMyShow’s FIR filed with the Mumbai police also urges authorities to investigate the unauthorised resale of tickets by individuals and platforms.

“We have provided details of all resellers that have come to our attention, including independent individuals reselling tickets for this tour across social media platforms such as Instagram, WhatsApp and beyond, as also digital platforms such as Viagogo, StubHub Holdings and more, to aid authorities in a thorough investigation.

“We remain vigilant in monitoring such instances of ticket reselling for this tour through black market channels and will continue to share all relevant information with the authorities to ensure appropriate action is taken. BookMyShow is assessing potential cancellation of such tickets that are being sold unethically.”

“BookMyShow vehemently condemns and opposes ticket reselling which is deemed illegal and is punishable by law in India”

Viagogo has also insisted it is not working with the Mumbai-headquartered firm, which says that “emotions ran high” after 13 million people attempted to buy tickets for the Coldplay gigs, which sold out within minutes of going on sale last month.

“Our stance remains clear and unchanged – BookMyShow vehemently condemns and opposes ticket reselling which is deemed illegal and is punishable by law in India,” the BMS statement adds. “BookMyShow has no association with any such unauthorised ticket selling/reselling platforms and/or any third party individuals/platforms for the purpose of reselling Coldplay’s Music Of The Spheres World Tour 2025 in India.

“We are working closely with the police and regulatory authorities, to provide complete support and cooperation in the investigation of this matter in any manner that may be required right from the start. Our authorised representatives and senior management have been available whenever required by the authorities, ensuring full transparency in sharing all necessary information with the EOW (Economic Offences Wing).”

The company also dismisses rumours that had circulated online suggesting the concerts would be cancelled, asserting they are “proceeding as planned”.

“Reports contrary to this are factually incorrect,” it continues. “As the promoter and official ticketing platform bringing Coldplay to India, we at BookMyShow have worked hard to ensure every fan had a fair chance to secure tickets, by pricing them affordably as also capping purchase at four tickets per user across all shows, providing clear, step-by-step booking guides and maintaining transparent communication through all our official channels.

“We remain committed to ensuring a fair and genuine experience for all our consumers.”

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.

Ticket touts hatched secret plans to sabotage Labour’s bid to cap ticket resale if the party wins the next UK general election, according to a new report.

Footage filmed by the Guardian shows touts and representatives of secondary ticketing platforms such as Viagogo, StubHub and Vivid Seats discussing the proposals at a private event in London, organised by US-based lobby group the Coalition for Ticket Fairness (CTF) and sponsored by Swiss marketplace Gigsberg. Guests paid $240 (€222) each to be in attendance.

At the gathering, touts reportedly pledged £73,000 to hire a “bulletproof” political lobbyist to target MPs after CTF UK president Tony McGowen told guests they could help “guide parliament and to fight back against all the bullshit that a Labour government potentially want to throw at us”.

“We are going to fight parliament, we’re going to fight government,”  he said, “because if we don’t, bottom line is we are all fucked.”

Jason Berger of CTF US added: “It takes a long time to change a law. It’s a lot easier to … stop the law from being written.”

“A Labour government will cap resale prices so fans can see the acts that they love at a fair price”

The event took place in the wake of Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s recent vow to restrict the resale of tickets at more than a small, set percentage above face value should his party triumph at July’s general election.

The proposed legislation would also limit the number of tickets individual resellers can list and make platforms accountable for the accuracy of information about tickets they list. In addition, it would ensure watchdog the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has the powers to take action against platforms and touts to protect consumers.

“We can’t let access to culture be at the mercy of ticket touts who drive up the prices,” Sir Keir told the Labour Creatives Conference in March. “So a Labour government will cap resale prices so fans can see the acts that they love at a fair price.”

The lobbyist whom the CTF said it had selected told the Guardian they had met with the group over a year ago but would never agree to work for it.

In a statement to the newspaper, the CTF said it was “not currently engaged in any lobbying activities in the UK” and has “no timeline to begin doing so”.

“CTF believes that measures to restrict access to ticketing will create a black market with more transactions driven underground”

“We have not engaged professional support in the manner described and we have no agreement to do so,” it continued. “Like any industry preparing for a potential change in a regulatory environment, we are taking preparatory action which includes bringing the industry together to share insights.

“CTF believes that measures to restrict access to ticketing will create a black market with more transactions driven underground, removing customer security; reduce the availability of tickets to fans; and create further monopolies for vested interests which will see prices driven up for fans.”

A Viagogo spokesperson told the Guardian that two of its executives attended the event for “networking reasons” and said the Swiss-headquartered firm was not funding the CTF. StubHub International and Vivid Seats did not comment, but the latter company is expected to launch in the UK shortly, having incorporated back in March.

A 2022 investigation by ITV News, based on research carried out by campaign group FanFair Alliance (FFA), found that three people were responsible for over two-thirds of UK festival and outdoor event tickets listed by resale platform Viagogo.

Rules to outlaw ticket touting have been adopted in a number of other countries. However, the Conservative government recently rejected fresh legislation that would impact the UK secondary ticketing market. The amendments to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill called for requirements to be imposed on resale platforms regarding “proof of purchase, ticket number limits and the provision of information, with the aim of reducing fraud”.

“I have quite happily used Viagogo on many occasions, as other people have when reselling tickets”

Business minister Kevin Hollinrake said: “We believe those provisions are already there,” and admitted to using Viagogo himself in the past.

“I have quite happily used Viagogo on many occasions, as other people have when reselling tickets,” said the Conservative MP. “Of course we will keep looking at the primary and secondary markets, and at the interaction between the two, so that we can develop the right way to regulate the market, in a future parliament.”

The suggested requirements for resale sites were in line with the recommendations made in a 2021 report by the CMA to tighten laws around online ticket touting, which were rejected by the UK government in May last year, with then business secretary Hollinrake saying he was “not convinced” by the need for additional legislative changes.

Earlier this month meanwhile, four people were jailed for using fraudulent tactics to purchase and resell hundreds of tickets at hugely inflated prices for events and concerts such as Ed Sheeran and Lady Gaga. The defendants ran multi-million-pound limited company TQ Tickets, which they used to purchase hundreds of tickets for events and concerts by the likes of Gary Barlow, Liam Gallagher, Paul Weller and Little Mix.

The trial heard the firm sold tickets worth more than £6.5 million (€7.6m) over the course of two-and-a-half years.

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.

The Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing (FEAT) is looking to the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) to clamp down on illegal ticket resale after once again taking aim at Google’s influence on the secondary ticketing market.

The DSA introduced new measures from August requiring large search engines to clamp down on illegal product listing, including working with risk-affected parties to carry out assessments of ‘systemic risks’ relating to illegal content.

FEAT, which is dedicated to the promotion of face-value ticket resale across the continent, says it is estimated that Google is responsible for driving two-thirds of traffic to Viagogo. Viagogo was banned from advertising on Google globally in July 2019 after the latter came under fire from lawmakers for allegedly accepting advertising money from sites listing tickets fraudulently. The ban was quietly lifted four months later.

At FEAT’s AGM in Barcelona last week, members agreed that by failing to properly consider the continued prevalence of illegal ticket resale advertising, large search engines may already be in breach of their new responsibilities. FEAT is also looking to adjust ticket T&Cs to enable event organisers to de-list resale ticket listings more aggressively via the DSA’s notice and action mechanisms once the regulation comes into force more widely.

“With new Europe-wide regulations coming into effect for predatory resale platforms in the New Year, we united at a critical moment”

“With new Europe-wide regulations coming into effect for predatory resale platforms in the New Year, we united at a critical moment,” says FEAT founding director and Doctor Music founder and CEO Neo Sala.

The organisation is also planning the next phase of its Make Tickets Fair! campaign,which  was launched earlier this year by a coalition of live industry organisations and professionals from across Europe launched with the intention of helping music fans avoid being ripped off on the secondary ticketing market.

“During the meeting we agreed exciting plans to use the DSA to get illegal ticket resale listings taken down, as well as ramp up the ‘Make Tickets Fair!’ campaign to help educate music fans on safe ticketing,” adds Sala.

Launched in 2019, FEAT has welcomed new member Kiki Ressler, MD of German booking and touring company KKT, which represents 64 artists including Die Toten Hosen and Die Ärzte.

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.

People who make more than $600 (€566) a year from reselling tickets in the US are to be taxed under new regulations drawn up by the Inland Revenue Service (IRS).

Previously, sellers only had to report earnings if they made more than $20,000 and at least 200 transactions a year.

The Wall Street Journal reports that under the law companies such as Ticketmaster and StubHub will now have to report if customers sold more than $600 in resale tickets annually. The requirement forms part of the American Rescue Plan Act, which came into effect at the start of the current financial year.

“Payment apps and online marketplaces are required to file a Form 1099-K if the gross payments to you for goods and services are over $600,” says the IRS in a statement.

“The $600 reporting threshold started with tax year 2023. There are no changes to what counts as income or how tax is calculated.”

The move could go some way to cracking down on ticket scalping, with the last 12 months having seen a flurry of demands for tougher regulation of the ticketing market.

Some of the UK’s leading music companies recently joined a fresh campaign against industrial-scale online ticket touting

Fix the Tix, a coalition of 30 US-based organisations across live entertainment, unveiled its plan for ticketing reform back in June, while the extraordinary worldwide demand for Taylor Swift tickets led to calls for stiffer punishments for touting in Brazil.

After local media reported that tickets were being offered for sale in-person and online at up to 10x face value,  congresswoman Simone Marquetto proposed the “Taylor Swift Act”, which would increase the maximum sentence for ticket touting from two to four years in prison, and fines of up to 100x the original price of the tickets.

Elsewhere, in Australia, the New South Wales and Victorian governments moved to crack down on touting after resale prices in excess of $3,000 were listed for the Eras Tour, with the latter designating the concerts as “major events,” triggering anti-scalping provisions in state legislation.

And some of the UK’s leading music companies recently joined a fresh campaign against industrial-scale online ticket touting. Led by FanFair Alliance, the campaign is urging MPs to introduce new legislation to “protect British consumers from unscrupulous and exploitative traders who operate on controversial websites such as Viagogo and StubHub”.

WME, CAA, ATC, 13 Artists, Kilimanjaro, FKP Scorpio and One Fiinix are among the parties to back FanFair Alliance’s three pro-consumer measures regarding legislative action, tech action and industry action.

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.

The extraordinary worldwide demand for Taylor Swift tickets has led to calls for stiffer punishments for touting in Brazil.

Some fans were allegedly threatened with violence by touts last week while waiting in line to buy tickets in São Paulo for the Brazilian dates of the singer’s Eras Tour.

Police removed 30 suspected scalpers from the queue and made at least 10 arrests. Nevertheless, Brazilian media reports tickets are being offered for sale in-person and online at up to 10x face value.

Congresswoman Simone Marquetto’s “Taylor Swift Act” would increase the maximum sentence for ticket touting from two to four years in prison, and fines of up to 100x the original price of the tickets, which in Swift’s case range from 190 to 1,050 reals (€36 to €201).

“Fans claim that dealers purchased a large number of tickets, making it impossible for other consumers,” says Marquetto, as per The Brazilian Report. “These ticket touts’ activity deprives the less fortunate, preventing them from attending the desired show and constitutes a true crime against the public economy.”

Swift will play three nights in Rio de Janeiro at Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos from 17-19 November and a further three shows at São Paulo’s Allianz Parque from 24-26 November, promoted by Tickets for Fun. A sixth date was added after the five initial concerts sold out in 40 minutes, as more than two million people attempted to buy tickets online.

“Event promoters must take responsibility for the sale of their tickets and act to curb the actions of scalpers”

Billboard reports that Marquetto’s bill also opens up the possibility of fining promoters and sponsors that allow touting to occur.

“This crime is sometimes carried out with the consent of the promoter and even in conjunction with scalpers,” adds Marquetto’s bill. “Event promoters must take responsibility for the sale of their tickets and act to curb the actions of scalpers.”

Millions of people also recently attempted to buy tickets for the singer’s first concerts in Argentina. Swift also revealed the dates for the 2024 European leg of the Eras Tour last week. In addition, she has added three more shows at Singapore’s National Stadium from 7-9 March, bringing her total number of gigs in the country to six – matching Coldplay’s record-setting haul in the country.

The fallout from last year’s original tour presale in the United States prompted a Senate antitrust hearing and opened the floodgates for calls for ticketing reform. Last month, two Massachusetts lawmakers proposed new ticketing rules dubbed the “Taylor Swift Bill”, and New Jersey representatives Bill Pascrell and Frank Pallone introduced their updated BOSS and SWIFT Act.

Last week meanwhile, it was announced by US president Joe Biden that Live Nation and others have pledged to adopt all-in ticket pricing, which will enable fans to see the full cost of their transactions upfront.

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.

The Cure say tickets for their upcoming 30-date North American tour will be non transferable in an effort to clamp down on touting.

The legendary British band begin their first full-scale US and Canada run since 2016 at New Orleans’ Smoothie King Center on 10 May. The tour is due to wrap up at the Miami-Dade Arena in Miami on 1 July.

Fans had until today (13 March) to register with Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan scheme, with a “lottery-style process” to be used to determine which entrants will receive a unique access code or be put on the waitlist for the 15 March sale.

In addition, the band say that “apart from a few Hollywood Bowl charity seats, there will be no ‘platinum’ or ‘dynamically priced’ tickets” sold for the tour, with prices for certain dates reportedly starting as low as $21.25 (€20).

“We want the tour to be affordable for all fans and we have a very wide (and we think very fair) range of pricing at every show,” says a social media post by the group. “Our ticketing partners have agreed to help us stop scalpers from getting in the way. To help minimise resale and keep prices at face value, tickets for this tour will not be transferable.

“Despite our desire to protect our low ticket prices for fans, the states of NY, IL and CO make this very difficult – they actually have laws in place that protect scalpers!”

“If something comes up that prevents a fan from being able to use a ticket they have purchased, they will be able to resell it on a face value ticket exchange.”

The band advise, however, that laws in New York, Illinois and Colorado mean shows in those states will be exempt from the restrictions, but still encourage ticket-holders no longer able to attend to sell their tickets on face value resale sites.

“Unfortunately, despite our desire to protect our low ticket prices for fans, the states of NY, IL and CO make this very difficult – they actually have laws in place that protect scalpers,” adds the statement. “For shows in these states we urge fans to buy or sell tickets to one another on face value exchanges like Twickets.live or Cashortrade.org.

“Fans should avoid buying tickets that are being resold at inflated prices by scalpers, and the sites that host these scalpers should refrain from reselling tickets for our shows.”

Revisit IQ‘s in-depth feature on The Cure’s biggest-ever European tour here.

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.

Two UK-based ticket touts, who were jailed after fraudulently reselling event tickets, have been ordered to pay back more than £6 million (€6.96m) or face a further eight years in prison.

Peter Hunter and David Smith, who operated as the company BZZ Limited, were jailed in February 2020 for four years and 30 months, respectively, following an investigation by the National Trading Standards eCrime Team and trial at Leeds Crown Court.

The pair committed offences between May 2010 and December 2017, making a net profit of £3.5 million in the last two years of fraud alone, buying and reselling tickets to concerts by artists including Ed Sheeran, Madness, McBusted, Taylor Swift and Coldplay, as well as to shows including Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

Yesterday’s (14 December) confiscation order follows a lengthy investigation by National Trading Standards and a complex and extensive financial investigation conducted by the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Economic Crime Unit (RECU). Smith and Hunter were found to have benefited from their crimes by a total of £8,750,732.00. They have been given three months to pay back £6,167,522.02 and face an additional eight years’ imprisonment should they fail to pay.

“We hope this sends a message to all those who choose to engage in fraud that there are severe consequences”

Ruth Andrews, regional investigations and eCrime manager for National Trading Standards, says the result “concludes a landmark case that demonstrates once and for all that dishonestly buying large quantities of tickets and reselling them at inflated prices is an unacceptable, illegal and fraudulent practice”.

“All too often fans looking to buy tickets to sport events, music concerts and other high-profile events find that official tickets sell out in minutes before reappearing on secondary ticketing sites at vastly inflated prices,” says Andrews. “This can have a significant financial impact on consumers and I hope this ground-breaking case helps drive long-term changes in the secondary ticketing market.

“The defendants have learnt again today that crime does not pay and their futures have been irrevocably damaged by their criminal behaviour as a result. We hope this sends a message to all those who choose to engage in fraud that there are severe consequences.”

Hunter and Smith, used dishonest and fraudulent tactics to purchase multiple tickets from primary ticket sellers such as Ticketmaster, Eventim and AXS, circumventing the platforms’ terms and conditions and their automated systems to block multiple purchases. They also engaged in “speculative selling” by listing tickets for sale on secondary ticketing websites that they had not purchased and did not own.

“Yesterday’s developments should be a trigger for wider investigations to tackle the excesses in this market”

The duo’s appeals against their convictions were rejected by the Court of Appeal in November 2021.

“Music fans should be delighted with the result of this landmark case,” says Adam Webb, campaign manager for anti-touting organisation the FanFair Alliance. “The sums involved are staggering, and give an indication on the massive harm being inflicted on consumers. However, Hunter and Smith are only the tip of the iceberg. They are not outliers by any stretch of the imagination, and many others still operate outside of the law.

“Yesterday’s developments should be a trigger for wider investigations to tackle the excesses in this market – whether that’s the activities of touts, their methods of acquiring tickets in bulk from primary agents, or the secondary platforms they sell through.”

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.

Welcome to IQ‘s brand-new weekly round-up of news from around the world. Here, in bite-sized chunks, we present a selection of international stories you may have missed from the last seven days…

UNITED KINGDOM:

Vince Power Music Group (VPMG) has announced AXS as its official ticketing partner for all its London venues after inking a new five-year deal. VPMG venues include: the former Dingwalls, PowerHaus (cap. 500), The Fiddler (cap. 120), Nells (cap. 350) and Subterania (cap. 600). AXS is the official ticketing partner for several UK venues including The O2, The SSE Arena, Wembley, Dreamland Margate, British Summertime Hyde Park, All Points East and AEG Presents’ touring business.

NETHERLANDS:

European showcase festival and conference Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) in Groningen has moved entirely online from 19–22 January 2022 in response to the government’s the latest Covid-19 measures. The digital edition will include a conference programme as well as the festival programmes of Noorderslag, Eurosonic and the Music Moves Europe Awards award ceremony.

UNITED STATES: 

Foo Fighters say they have axed a 2022 tour date due to the venue’s “refusal to agree to the band’s Covid safety measures”. The band were due to play Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on 3 August, but are now looking for a replacement venue. A spokesperson for the University of Minnesota, which operates the venue, said its current measures relating to vaccines and mask-wearing were in line with state and federal guidelines, and declined to change its existing protocols for large events.

GERMANY:

CTS Eventim is acquiring regional ticketing providers in the Rhineland region, Kölnticket and Bonnticket. The companies previously belonged to media houses Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger Medien in Cologne and Rheinische Post Mediengruppe in Düsseldorf, and had previously partnered with CTS on ticketing software and platform technology. The deal will give CTS Eventim a significant presence in the region as well as numerous contacts in the local entertainment scene.

UK/US:

The British Music Embassy has announced its live return to South By Southwest (SXSW) with its biggest presence yet. The intimate 250-person UK music showcase will return in 2022 with a capacity of 700 at Cedar Street Courtyard, an open-air SXSW venue, from 14-20 March. It will be the first in-person British Music Embassy since 2019 as the 2020 edition of SXSW was one of the first major festivals to be cancelled due to Covid-19.

GERMANY:

The ASM Global-managed, Arena Oberhausen in Germany is to be renamed after 20 years as the Konig Pilsener Arena. From next year, the 12,650-capacity venue will be known as Rudolf Weber Arena, in the largest naming rights deal in the Oberhausen-based venue’s 25-year history.

BELGIUM:

Five more names have been confirmed for Rock Werchter 2022. The War On Drugs will play the Festivalpark on Thursday 30 June. Lewis Capaldi and Greta Van Fleet join the line-up for Friday 1 July, Yungblud is scheduled for Saturday July 2 and Royal Blood will put in an appearance on Sunday 3 July. Headlined by Pearl Jam, Metallica, Imagine Dragons and Red Hot Chili Pepper, the festival runs from 30 June to 2 July.

UNITED KINGDOM:

Two internet ticket touts sentenced to a combined six-and-a-half years in prison following a landmark court case have failed in their appeals against their conviction for fraudulent trading. Peter Hunter and David Smith, who operated as the company BZZ Limited, were jailed for four years and 30 months, respectively, in February 2020 following an investigation by the National Trading Standards eCrime Team, and trail at Leeds Crown Court. The pair committed offences between May 2010 and December 2017, making a net profit of £3.5 million in the last two years of fraud alone, buying and reselling tickets to concerts by artists including Ed Sheeran, McBusted, Taylor Swift and Coldplay. On the appeal Smith and Hunter raised a large number of legal and procedural grounds. They appealed the verdict, alleging the judge wrongly directed the jury on the law and “acted unfairly and prejudicially in his conduct of the trial”, arguing the restrictions attaching to the sale of the tickets were “void and invalid”. However, the Court of Appeal rejects their appeals, upholding the conclusion of the judge at trial that the restrictions imposed by event organisers were valid, adding the judge “acted properly in all relevant respects and that the convictions are safe and lawful”.

IRELAND:

Irish-headquartered Tixserve has partnered with UK ticket agency Gigantic to provide a “secure and interactive digital ticket fulfilment service” for its live entertainment ticketing. The partnership will see Irish-Headquartered Tixserve provide Gigantic with a white label digital ticketing app – delivering via a full API technical integration, a sophisticated and seamless fulfilment service for Gigantic clients and customers.

UNITED KINGDOM:

International booking agency Midnight Mango has announced four new agents – Nigel Morton, Addison Paterson, Sam Bryant and Hanna Bright – after initiating an Agent Freelancer Platform in the early days of the pandemic. After delivering training and guidance to four agents back in the spring, the firm took on a further four new agents in September. The new appointments work with acts such as Gretchen Peters, Bicurious, Dom Martin and The Kakatsitsi Master Drummers, expanding the agency’s roster to more than 150 artists, represented by a 15-strong workforce.

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.

The team behind Dutch blockchain ticketing platform GUTS Tickets is launching getTicket, a new ticketing company based in South Korea.

Working together with local partners, GUTS is bringing its anti-tout and anti-fraud ticketing technology to Asia. GetTicket is ready to sell its first tickets, with GUTS stating that “multiple big events” are already lined up.

Founded in 2016, GUTS uses the blockchain-based GET Protocol to register all transactions, allowing organisers to track each ticket bought, alerting them to duplication or above-face-value resale. All ticket bought through GUTS are registered to the buyer’s mobile phone.

Put simply, says the International Ticketing Yearbook 2019, “GUTS has come up with a technology that prevents unwanted third parties intervening in the ecosystem between event organiser and the end consumer.”

“Our mission of becoming the worldwide standard for digital ticketing is nowhere near to complete”

The company has broken multiple blockchain ticketing records, most recently powering the sale for two 35,000-capacity shows by pop star Guus Meeuwis at the Philips Stadium in Eindhoven. GUTS is the official ticketing partner of Dutch festival Oerrock.

GetTicket is GUTS’ first venture outside of the Netherlands.

“Over the 3.5 years since we sold our first ticket, the team has put forth a world-class achievement,” says Maarten Bloemers, founder of GUTS Tickets.

“The fact that we are now getting recognition on a global scale makes me incredibly proud. However, our mission of becoming the worldwide standard for digital ticketing is nowhere near to complete. We won’t rest until we get there.”

Companies in over 40 countries worldwide have shown interest in using GUTS’ white label ticketing solution. Following the launch of getTicket, the company plans on launching its technology in other markets.

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.