Oasis tour promoters to cancel 50k resale tickets
Promoters of Oasis’ reunion concerts say they will cancel up to 50,000 tickets listed on unofficial resale sites for the tour’s UK leg.
Live Nation and SJM told BBC Radio 4’s File on 4 the invalidated tickets would be re-listed at face value on Ticketmaster.
Oasis Live ’25 was the biggest concert launch ever seen in UK and Ireland, with over 10 million fans from 158 countries attempting to buy tickets for the 1.4 million tickets available for the group’s first shows since 2009.
Strict anti-touting measures were put in place in a bid to ensure tickets are resold for no more than face value and booking fees, with Twickets selected as the tour’s official ticket resale platform.
“Ticket resale is permitted at no more than the price you paid (face value + booking fees),” read a message on the Oasis website prior to the 31 August on-sale. “Please only use the official resale partners www.twickets.live and Ticketmaster. Selling tickets through unauthorised resale platforms will breach these T&Cs and those tickets may be cancelled.”
The promoters said they would begin the process of voiding tickets deemed to have breached the terms and conditions shortly.
“Fans will be the beneficiaries of this action when any cancelled tickets go back on sale at face value”
“These terms and conditions were successfully put in place to take action against secondary ticketing companies reselling tickets for huge profit,” they say in a statement. “Only 4% of tickets have ended up on resale sites. Some major tours can see up to 20% of tickets appearing via the major unauthorised secondary platforms.
“All parties involved with the tour continue to urge fans not to purchase tickets from unauthorised websites as some of these may be fraudulent and others subject to cancellation.”
Speaking to IQ, FanFair Alliance campaign manager Adam Webb praises the move.
“It’s great to see Oasis take these measures to enforce their T&Cs,” he says. “To be clear, they are not cancelling tickets bought by fans – they are cancelling tickets unlawfully acquired by touts. That’s a very different thing. Some of these tickets might not even have been resold. And obviously fans will be the beneficiaries of this action when any cancelled tickets go back on sale at face value.”
Viagogo’s Matt Drew told File on 4 that “2%” of Oasis tickets had appeared on Viagogo and Stubhub, and indicated the secondary sites would not be deterred from offering them for resale.
“We will continue to sell them in the way the regulator says we can,” he said. “We are serving a clear consumer need, we will continue doing it on that basis.”
“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”
In a previous high-profile case, organisers of Ed Sheeran’s 2018 ÷ Tour stadium run cancelled around 10,000 tickets after Viagogo refused a request from Sheeran’s team not to list the tickets for resale. Labour MP Sharon Hodgson referenced the singer during last week’s secondary ticketing hearing in parliament.
“I do not want this debate to end without mentioning Ed Sheeran and how much he has done to try to tackle the scourge of ticket touting,” said Hodgson. “Lots of other artists, such as Iron Maiden, Arctic Monkeys, Mumford & Sons and many others have tried, but Ed Sheeran went above and beyond by cancelling tickets when they had been resold. Taylor Swift never did that because she did not want to break the hearts of all her fans, but Ed Sheeran has been a real warrior in that regard.”
With the new Labour government preparing to launch a consultation into the resale market, Hodgson highlighted the impact of ticketing legislation introduced in Ireland in 2021.
“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,” she said.
Cast were this week confirmed as the opening act for Oasis’ 19-date UK and Ireland tour leg, joining previously announced special guest Richard Ashcroft on the bill. The on-sale became marred by a dynamic ticketing row that triggered multiple inquiries in the UK and Ireland. In the wake of the backlash, the band’s team opted against utilising the pricing strategy for their subsequent North America and Australia sales to “hopefully avoid a repeat of the issues”.
“It is widely accepted that dynamic pricing remains a useful tool to combat ticket touting and keep prices for a significant proportion of fans lower than the market rate and thus more affordable,” they said in a statement. “But, when unprecedented ticket demand (where the entire tour could be sold many times over at the moment tickets go on sale) is combined with technology that cannot cope with that demand, it becomes less effective and can lead to an unacceptable experience for fans.”
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Ticket touts bid to scupper Labour resale reforms
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.
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Viagogo agrees to website changes after EU action
Viagogo has committed to improving terms and consumer information on its website following a three-year investigation by the European Commission (EC).
The agreed changes, which must be implemented to the versions of its website directed at EU/EEA consumers by the end of August 2024, include informing consumers on whether the seller of a ticket is a trader, and substantially reducing the number of countdown messages that appear when making a purchase.
In addition, the secondary ticketing site will allow customers to choose an exact seat number on their ticket, where possible, and include delivery fees in the displayed price where there is only one delivery option available for a ticket. There will also be more time to apply for a refund under Viagogo’s ‘discretionary’ ticket guarantee scheme, as featured this week on the BBC’s Watchdog consumer advice programme in the UK.
The agreement further clarifies that EU citizens will be protected by their national consumer laws and can take actions against Viagogo, if needed, in their own country of residence.
The Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network, coordinated by the EC, began a dialogue with Viagogo in April 2021. As a result of this first coordinated action from the EU, the Swiss-headquartered resale platform has agreed to implement a number of changes and clarifications to several clauses in its terms & conditions by the end of August.
“Consumers buying second hand tickets must understand exactly what they buy, the potential risks they face when tickets do not come from authorised retailers and that scarcity claims may only be a trick to make them purchase at a higher price,” says Věra Jourová, the EC’s VP for values and transparency. “I hope the commitments made by Viagogo will bring the company’s website and terms and conditions more in line with the requirements of EU consumer protection law. I call on this market leader now to ensure a swift and accurate implementation of its commitments across the Union.”
“We expect this will save lots of time and money in legal battles, which the live performance sector can ill afford”
A Viagogo spokesperson says: “Following a period of ongoing cooperation with the European Commission and the CPC Network, we have agreed to make amendments to our platform that will further enhance our consumer protection measures by the implementation deadline.
“Viagogo remains fully committed to fulfilling all legal obligations and ensuring compliance in all markets in which we operate. We are pleased to have reached a resolution and underline our commitment to prioritising fan safety and access.”
Commenting on the development, Sam Shemtob, director of the Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing (FEAT), says: “FEAT has been calling for better enforcement for rogue ticket resale marketplaces for five years. This is the EU’s first coordinated action, and introduces some of the most far-reaching consumer protection for European consumers to date.
“The changes will also prove incredibly useful in promoters’ efforts to curtail ticket scalping. We expect this will save lots of time and money in legal battles, which the live performance sector can ill afford.”
Nevertheless, Viagogo has refused to commit to changes the CPC Network had requested around informing consumers about the amount of possible delivery fees at the beginning of the purchase procedure, as well as making clearer to consumers that they may have additional rights when their event is cancelled or postponed.
“The CPC Network urged Viagogo to address these issues as well and may resort to enforcement actions as necessary,” says the EC. “The CPC Network will now actively monitor how Viagogo implements its commitments. If Viagogo does not implement the commitments properly within the agreed timeframe or if it fails to address the remaining concerns raised by the CPC Network, national consumer authorities may decide to take measures to enforce compliance, including sanctions.”
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Viagogo loses lengthy legal battle, plans appeal
Viagogo has lost a years-long legal battle against New Zealand’s consumer watchdog over claims the site repeatedly misled customers.
The NZ Commerce Commission (CC) began investigating Viagogo, which has appealed the judgement, in 2017 and started civil proceedings in the High Court in August 2018.
It successfully argued the Swiss-headquartered secondary ticketing company had breached New Zealand’s Fair Trading Act by posting misleading information on its website about its authenticity as an official ticket seller, as well as its status as a resale platform and the price, scarcity, and validity of tickets.
The High Court has now ordered Viagogo to correct the misleading information and update its terms and conditions to allow for customer disputes to be dealt with through the New Zealand courts.
“The Commission is aware of a large number of reports from consumers who had purchased event tickets from Viagogo, booked flights and travel to attend the event, only to be turned away at the entrance when they found out for the first time that their tickets weren’t authentic,” says CC fair trading general manager Vanessa Horne. “This resulted in significant distress and financial impacts for consumers.”
“We now have a ruling that will require Viagogo to be upfront with Kiwi consumers about what they’re buying and ensure a fairer resolution system”
Horne says Viagogo challenged efforts to subject it to New Zealand jurisdiction, going so far as to require in its terms and conditions that any customer disputes had to be dealt with through the Swiss courts. However, the High Court deemed that to be an “unfair contract term” under the Fair Trading Act.
“We took this case on behalf of every one of those Kiwi consumers and pursued this large global entity over more than eight years – and we now have a ruling that will require Viagogo to be upfront with Kiwi consumers about what they’re buying and ensure a fairer resolution system for settling disputes against Viagogo in the future,” adds Horne.
“This case was about holding a global business to account for the harm they were causing in New Zealand and paving the way for individuals to have the ability to stand up for their consumer rights against international companies. The New Zealand Fair Trading Act requires businesses to make accurate claims and consider the overall impression a consumer would have based on their representations.”
A spokesperson for Viagogo says: “In 2018, the New Zealand Commerce Commission commenced civil proceedings against Viagogo. Following a trial that concluded in March 2023, a decision has now been issued. The findings relate to a combination of historic and more recent conduct. Viagogo has made amendments to its platform and remains fully committed to fulfilling all legal obligations and ensuring full compliance – as it does in all markets in which it operates.
“Viagogo is appealing against several aspects of the decision but is taking steps to comply with the decision pending the appeal being heard. Given the matter remains before the courts, Viagogo will make no further comment.”
The watchdog adds that Viagogo’s appeal against the ruling will be “strongly defended” by the Commission.
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Ticketing amendments rejected by House of Commons
Fresh legislation that would impact the secondary ticketing market has been rejected in the House of Commons.
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 do not want to stop any fans from reselling their tickets if they can no longer go to the event. I just want the industrial-scale, parasitic scalping to stop,” said Labour MP Sharon Hodgson, a longtime campaigner against industrial-scale ticket touting. “However, until we get to that point – and while the Conservatives are still in government—it is important that current legislation is made as effective as possible. They could ensure that now.
“The small measures that we are talking about do not go as far as we plan to go, but they would be a start in preventing consumer harm and making it harder for bad actors to thrive.”
Fellow Labour MP Sir Chris Bryant added: “If the minister goes to the Viagogo website and tries to buy a ticket, he will see on the first page that it says the ticket is £420 or whatever. Can he see the original value of the ticket? No. Can he see whether it is a validly purchased ticket? No. That is the problem that the amendment would solve. It would be simple for the government to agree to the amendment and then we can get the Bill through.”
Nevertheless, the proposed changes were voted out by MPs yesterday (30 April), as business minister Kevin Hollinrake said: “We believe those provisions are already there,” and admitted to using resale platform Viagogo himself in the past.
“I have quite happily used Viagogo on many occasions, as other people have when reselling tickets”
“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 Competition and Markets Authority 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.
The amendments to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers will potentially return to the House of Lords for further discussion at a later date.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer recently pledged to introduce new legislation to cap ticket resale if the party wins the next general election. Measures would include restricting the resale of tickets at more than a small, set percentage above face value, and limiting the number of tickets individual resellers can list. But Viagogo global MD Cris Miller claimed that while the move is “well-intentioned”, “price caps just don’t work”.
“What happens with price caps is that the highest-demand part of the market, where you might see prices go above the original price, will just get driven underground,” Miller told the Guardian.
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StubHub considering IPO, targets $16.5bn valuation
Ticket resale platform StubHub is reportedly planning to go public this summer if it can achieve a valuation of around US$16.5 billion (€15.5bn).
The Information, which broke the news, cites sources close to StubHub, but says the company may call off the offering if it is unable to approach its $16.5bn target – in line with what it was valued at during its 2021 round of private funding.
The American firm, which is understood to have been working with JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs on the IPO over the past two years, is said to have debts of more than $2bn. It was previously rumoured to be going public via a direct listing in 2022.
StubHub, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs have all declined to comment on the timing of the offering.
CNBC notes that ticket platform SeatGeek has also reportedly been sizing up a potential IPO this year, while publicly traded competitors Vivid Seats and Live Nation are valued at $1.2bn and close to $24bn, respectively, according to FactSet.
Viagogo announced its $4bn acquisition of StubHub in 2019
Viagogo announced its acquisition of StubHub for US$4.05bn in 2019 in a landmark deal that brought together the world’s two largest secondary ticket sellers, and placed Viagogo founder and CEO Eric Baker back in control of the company he co-founded in 2000.
The sale was approved by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) after Viagogo was forced to sell its international business due to competition concerns. It offloaded its StubHub business outside of North America to investment firm Digital Fuel Capital LLC for an undisclosed sum in 2021.
Viagogo has also been back in the news this week, with the Swiss-headquartered firm’s global MD Cris Miller speaking out against Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to introduce new legislation to cap ticket resale in the UK if the party wins the next general election.
Measures would include restricting the resale of tickets at more than a small, set percentage above face value, and limiting the number of tickets individual resellers can list. But Miller claimed that while the move is “well-intentioned”, “price caps just don’t work”.
“What happens with price caps is that the highest-demand part of the market, where you might see prices go above the original price, will just get driven underground,” he told the Guardian.
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Labour leader pledges to cap ticket resale in UK
Music industry figures in the UK have welcomed Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to introduce new legislation to cap ticket resale if the party wins the next general election.
Speaking today (14 March) at the Labour Creatives Conference in London, Sir Keir said: “We can’t let access to culture be at the mercy of ticket touts who drive up the prices. So a Labour government will cap resale prices so fans can see the acts that they love at a fair price.”
The move would restrict the resale of tickets at more than a small, set percentage above face value, and limit the number of tickets individual resellers can list.
In addition, it would make platforms accountable for the accuracy of information about tickets they list for sale and ensure the Competition and Markets Authority has the powers that it needs to take action against platforms and touts, to protect consumers.
Sir Keir’s speech came just a day after two people were convicted of fraudulently and dishonestly buying and reselling tickets for high-profile concerts by acts including Ed Sheeran as part of a £6.5 million scheme.
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.
“The impact of these policies should be monumentally positive, and help to reset the UK’s live music market for the benefit of artists and their audiences”
Legislation to outlaw ticket touting has been adopted in a number of other countries. However, the UK government last year rejected the recommendations of the British competition regulator to tighten laws around online ticket touting, prompting the FFA, which was established by the Music Managers Forum (MMF) in July 2016, to relaunch its campaigning and advocate for a total ban on ticket resale for profit.
FFA campaign manager Adam Webb describes the announcement as “positive news for music fans”, while managers of acts such as Ed Sheeran, Arctic Monkeys, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Biffy Clyro also applauded the news.
“We have spent years fighting the scourge of online ticket touting and keeping prices fair for fans,” says Stuart Camp of Grumpy Old Management. “The impact of these policies should be monumentally positive, and help to reset the UK’s live music market for the benefit of artists and their audiences.”
“I fully welcome and applaud the commitment from Labour to introduce legislation to reform the broken resale marketplace which has blighted our industry for years,” says Wildlife Entertainment CEO Ian McAndrew. “As a founder member of the FanFair Alliance, we have campaigned for over a decade to encourage change while introducing measures to try and protect fans. The introduction of new legislation will better protect fans from the unscrupulous practices of online touts.”
“ATC has always strived to prevent our artists’ audiences from being exploited by online ticket touts,” adds ATC Management’s Brian Message. “This is often a challenging, time-consuming and difficult process, which is why we helped set up FanFair Alliance and why fresh legislation in this area is now so important. I’m hopeful today marks a real turning point.”
Nostromo Management’s Paul Craig says: “As a music manager, I am delighted with Labour’s initiative to dismantle the secondary ticket market’s grip on live events. This decisive action against online ticket touting should herald a new era where fans can access tickets fairly, and the essence of live music will thrive without the shadow of exploitation.”
“The enforcement of new legislation is the only way to fully clamp down on these rogue traders and the platforms they sell across”
A host of other prominent executives have also spoken out in support of the proposed legislation.
Jon Collins, CEO of trade body LIVE, says: “We welcome Labour’s commitment to clamp down on ticket touting to ensure more tickets end up in the hands of fans and not bots.”
Annabella Coldrick, MMF chief executive, says: “We welcome greatly that the Labour Party has announced this policy and look forward to seeing it come into legislation.”
Stuart Galbraith, CEO of Kilimanjaro Live and co-founder of LIVE, says: “Alongside other FanFair supporters, Kilimanjaro has called for these kinds of consumer-friendly policies for years. As a company, we work incredibly hard to stop our events being hijacked by online ticket touts, but the enforcement of new legislation is the only way to fully clamp down on these rogue traders and the platforms they sell across.”
Gareth Griffiths, director partnerships & sponsorship, Virgin Media O2, says: “O2 has been part of the FanFair Alliance since 2017 with the aim of protecting our customers from online touts during our exclusive Priority Tickets presales.
“We’ve seen the secondary market swamped with over-inflated, sky-high ticket resale prices for years, with no benefit for artists or their fans. Legislation would be a crucial step forward and through our continued work with FanFair Alliance we’re pleased to see this issue getting the attention and action it deserves.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Viagogo expressed caution, saying there is “significant evidence” to show that resale restrictions force fans “to unverified sites and social media, exposing them to a high risk of fraud without any protection”.
“We see this as an opportunity to underscore the effectiveness of today’s regulatory framework of the resale marketplace, which has been shaped by years of government review and oversight,” adds the spokesperson. “A safe, secure and transparent environment for UK consumers has been established.
“We protect consumer’s rights to buy and sell tickets in a secure, regulated marketplace. On Viagogo, payment is contingent on the buyer successfully entering the event, and every transaction is guaranteed, ensuring buyers either gain entry or receive a refund.
“We believe that a comprehensive conversation, focused on practical and effective regulation across the entire ticketing industry, is in the best interest of consumers.”
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Viagogo settles with Swiss watchdog
Secondary ticketing platform Viagogo has reached a settlement with Switzerland’s largest consumer protection organisation following a six-year legal battle.
The resale firm, whose European headquarters are in Geneva, has allocated 100,000 Swiss francs (€105,000) as compensation for the 807 individuals who lodged complaints against it with the Fédération Romande des Consommateurs (FRC) prior to 5 February 2024.
Viagogo has also agreed to make changes to its Swiss website, indicating its status as a resale marketplace in Switzerland’s three national languages and English, so that consumers are not led to believe they are buying from an official seller.
It must also provide greater transparency over ticket prices and seating information, feature a reduced number of “pop-up” windows to limit pressure on prospective buyers, and clearly identify professional resellers or traders.
In return for these changes, the FRC has withdrawn its lawsuit. However, should Viagogo fail to meet any of the above commitments, the FRC will be free to make another legal complaint.
“In our view, this agreement was the best option faced to a procedure that was getting bogged down and would certainly have taken many more years before a final decision was reached,” says Jean Tschopp, head of the FRC’s legal department. “Our association preferred concrete improvements for internet users in the form of changes brought to Viagogo’s Swiss website instead of waiting several more years for a final decision.
“What’s more, pursuing the legal route wouldn’t have guaranteed a favourable outcome for aggrieved consumers. Even if the courts had found against Viagogo, the victims wouldn’t necessarily have received compensation. In this case, the 807 people concerned will be.”
“We hope and expect the new Digital Services Act, which requires online marketplaces to improve transparency and desist from pressure buying tactics, will be robustly enforced”
The FRC first lodged a criminal complaint against Viagogo with the Geneva public prosecutor’s office in 2017 after receiving more than 100 complaints against the site, relating to lack of transparency over pricing, pressure-selling tactics, and leading consumers to believe they were buying from an official ticket seller.
“While great news, the settlement – made after six years of legal work – highlights the difficulty of hauling uncapped ticket resale sites through the courts,” says Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing (FEAT) director Sam Shemtob. “For consumers in the EU, we hope and expect the new Digital Services Act, which requires online marketplaces to improve transparency and desist from pressure buying tactics, will be robustly enforced.”
A Viagogo spokesperson says: “We are pleased to have reached an agreement with Fédération Romande des Consommateurs. As part of this, we have made changes to our Swiss platform to enhance the fan experience for our Swiss customers. Viagogo is a safe, secure and regulated marketplace that is fully compliant in the markets in which we operate.”
The European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which was implemented on Saturday (17 February), brought major implications for the online secondary ticketing market, requiring platforms to identify and verify professional sellers, and prohibiting them from using manipulative sales tactics.
The legislation has also introduced annual reports on content take-downs that should help reveal the scale of illegal activity – data on which enforcement agencies and search engines will be compelled to take action.
There have been over 40 legal cases against ticket traders and resale platforms in the EU since 2016.
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Transformative ticketing resale act makes its bow
Campaigners are celebrating tomorrow’s implementation of the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which brings with it major implications for the online secondary ticketing market.
From 17 February, the DSA will apply to all platforms, including Viagogo and Stubhub, which will be required to identify and verify professional sellers, and will be prohibited from using manipulative sales tactics.
The legislation will also introduce annual reports on content take-downs that should help reveal the scale of illegal activity – data on which enforcement agencies and search engines will be compelled to take action.
The new regulations, designed to create a safer digital environment, include key provisions lobbied for over two years by the Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing (FEAT) on behalf of Europe’s live entertainment sector. As a result of FEAT’s efforts, online resale marketplaces will now be subject to stricter due diligence and reporting requirements, improving transparency for buyers.
Ticket resale sites will be banned from using design tricks that manipulate consumers into decisions
Measures affecting ticket resale marketplaces include:
Identifying and verifying professional sellers: online marketplaces will be required to obtain essential information about third party professional sellers, such as name, contact details and ID, before traders can list tickets on the platform. They will also be required to ensure that the seller’s name, contact and trading details appear on the listing.
Prohibition of dark patterns: ticket resale sites will be banned from using design tricks that manipulate consumers into decisions, such as “pop-ups” or giving prominence to specific choices.
Annual reporting: ticket resale sites will be required to produce easily comprehensible and publicly-available annual reports on takedowns of ticket listings.This will give an indication of the scale of harmful activity taking place.
Increased accountability for marketplaces: Resale platforms will be required to make it clear throughout the buying process that the tickets listed are provided by a third party. If a platform fails to do this and fans are led to believe that the tickets are provided by the platform itself, the platform can be held responsible for any tickets listed in contravention of national laws.
Increased oversight: Every Member State is in the process of appointing a Digital Services Coordinator (DSC) to enforce the rules laid out in the DSA, with far-reaching powers of investigation. DSCs will have the ability to sanction platforms that do not comply with these new regulations, and consumers will be able to notify DSCs of any illegal listings through a simple flagging procedure.
“Our priority now is to ensure that the new rules are enforced, with a clear process for removing illegal ticket listings”
FEAT is now engaged in working with European member states’ newly-appointed Digital Services Coordinators (DSCs) to ensure effective enforcement of the new legislation. This includes establishing a clear process for reporting and taking down ticket listings that contradict member state or EU law.
FEAT Director Sam Shemtob says, “This is a landmark moment for Europe’s live events sector. Our priority now is to ensure that the new rules are enforced, with a clear process for removing illegal ticket listings as and when they appear. FEAT is looking forward to working with DSCs across the Member States to make this happen and lay the groundwork for a fairer, more transparent ticket-buying experience for consumers on the secondary market.”
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ASA says resale advert ruling ‘sets a precedent’
The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has told IQ its recent ruling against Viagogo has “set a precedent” for secondary ticketing websites.
Last month, the watchdog upheld a complaint from anti-touting campaign group FanFair Alliance that the resale platform had misled consumers in two advertorials published on the NME website in 2023. The paid-for ads were entitled “The best gigs to see this summer at Hyde Park” and “A beginners guide to getting Taylor Swift ‘Eras’ tour tickets. How to avoid the scammers and secure tickets.”
FanFair Alliance complained to the ASA, saying it understood the resale of tickets through resale websites like Viagogo was prohibited by the events listed.
Viagogo hit back, arguing it simply stated that tickets for the events were legitimately available on its marketplace and believed there was nothing in the ads which implied it was an official primary ticketing outlet. But the ASA rejected its argument and said the adverts must not appear again in the form complained of.
Speaking to IQ, the ASA’s Freddie Alcock says the case was relatively straightforward.
“The ruling is to protect consumers, ultimately, but also set a precedent going forward that you can’t omit information around the sale of these tickets”
“The reason they were misleading is because both events quite clearly stated in their terms and conditions that tickets bought on secondary ticketing platforms wouldn’t be valid,” he says. “We operate what we call ‘reverse burden of proof’, in that it’s on the advertiser to prove why something isn’t misleading, or to substantiate a claim they made – and Viagogo weren’t able to provide what we felt was substantial evidence that neither ads misled.
“The ruling is to protect consumers, ultimately, but also set a precedent going forward that you can’t omit information around the sale of these tickets. And to be fair to Viagogo, they have complied with it and removed both advertorials.”
Viagogo said it was “disappointed” by the ASA’s ruling, insisting it is “a safe, secure and regulated global online marketplace, and we are fully compliant with the law in all markets in which we operate”.
“We exist to get fans into live events and oppose anti-consumer actions taken by event organisers to restrict purchasing and resale options in an attempt to control the market. These measures ultimately harm fans by limiting choice, flexibility, and access.”
The company told the ASA that less than 1% of customers were denied entry to events after having purchased a ticket on its platform, and operated a guarantee so that if a customer was not admitted they would be entitled to a refund. But Alcock says that was not relevant to the complaint.
“It’s on our radar that a lot of events now say that resale tickets are only valid through a fan-to-fan exchange”
“That’s irrelevant to the problem here,” he says. “The problem here is that it does clearly misleadingly imply that tickets are valid. And [Viagogo’s] response, to be fair, was ‘Okay, we disagree, but we respect the ASA and its view.’
“We understand that [secondary ticketing] companies are allowed to operate – everyone has their views on that and it’s not for us to talk about. All that we’re concerned about is that, when they do advertise, they make sure that they don’t omit any information that could be considered important for the consumer to know upfront.”
Alcock says the regulator anticipates similar complaints to become more commonplace as artists increasingly seek to control where tickets for their shows can be resold.
“I think this ruling preemptively speaks to that issue,” he says. “It’s on our radar that a lot of events now say that resale tickets are only valid through a fan-to-fan exchange, or whatever. So hopefully this ruling serves as a reminder.
“Our main goal here is to protect consumers. We’re very conscious of the fact that someone’s buying a ticket for one of these events, one, they’re expensive and two, they might have to travel to it and pay for a hotel. There’s a lot that goes into someone deciding to go to one of these events.”
The ASA previously took action in 2018 alongside the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) around secondary ticket sales websites failing to properly disclose fees for tickets upfront.
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