Month: April 2018

  • Fair Ticketing Alliance offers “three cheers” for StubHub, GetMeIn! and Seatwave commitments to improve transparency for customers
  • But a big “boo” to Viagogo who appear yet to have addressed the concerns of the CMA
  • CMA enforcement action leads to welcome changes for live music and entertainment fans which the Fair Ticketing Alliance has been campaigning for
[LONDON, 25 April 2018] The Fair Ticketing Alliance (FTA), which brings together responsible secondary ticket operators, has today welcomed commitments from three of the four major secondary ticketing website platforms to comply fully with the law after enforcement action from the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA). The Alliance is very disappointed, however, that the other major platform, Viagogo has failed to address concerns raised by the regulator. One of the key objectives behind the creation of the Fair Ticketing Alliance was to campaign for “Government and regulatory bodies to ensure that secondary website platforms allow traders to comply fully with the law”. Fair Ticketing Alliance member, Scot Tobias said: “The Fair Ticketing Alliance is delighted with the swift action of StubHub, GetMeIn and Seatwave to improve transparency for customers following action by the Competition and Markets Authority. Undoubtedly, this will improve the experience of live music and entertainment fans using their sites and is precisely in line with what we have been calling for as traders. “It’s disappointing, however, that not all secondary website platforms have followed suit. Our members have stopped listing tickets on certain sites who do not comply with everything set out by the CMA. We urge those sites to do so immediately. “We want consumers to be able to make clear, informed decisions when buying tickets on the secondary market, and we welcome the CMA’s view that these changes will help people pick the best deals for them. The FTA supports a secondary marketplace that offers choice, trust and flexibility and we believe that today’s announcement is another BIG step in the right direction.” The Fair Ticketing Alliance was launched to campaign for a fair, trustworthy and flexible ticket market that works for all live entertainment fans. The Alliance was set up by a group of responsible UK ticket traders representing a cross section of the industry. It comes in the wake of increasing market uncertainty which threatens the future of their mainly small, often family-run, businesses and the valuable service they provide to fans.

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NOTES TO EDITORS More information about the Fair Ticketing Alliance can be found on its website: www.fairticketing.co.uk or by following us on Twitter: @FairTicketing Media contact: Pete Bowyer press@fairticketing.co.uk 07740 913886
· Concerns remain about how these measures will stop ticket harvesting from abroad · Fair Ticketing Alliance urges Government to learn from US experience · Alliance holds out hand to help support government implementation of its plans [LONDON, 23 April 2018] The Fair Ticketing Alliance, which brings together responsible secondary ticket operators, has today welcomed plans by the Government to outlaw automated software to bulk buy tickets for resale on secondary ticketing website platforms. The Alliance has pressed for such measures to be introduced, following the US model, but remains concerned that the proposals will not stop unscrupulous re-sellers from using such software from abroad, circumventing the plans. Fair Ticketing Alliance chairman, Stephen Lee, said: “The Fair Ticketing Alliance welcomes plans by the Government to finally outlaw automated software to bulk buy tickets for resale on secondary ticketing website platforms. Our members have been pressing for such measures, but we don’t believe they go far enough to give fans a good and fair deal. In particular, we are concerned that these measures will have little impact on unscrupulous operators who harvest tickets by bots from abroad. “The Government should study the American legal environment on secondary ticketing closely, particularly that of New York State which leads the market in the US. They’re well ahead of the UK and have already banned bots, not just talked about it. They’ve also introduced a licensing system for responsible operators who have a right to resell tickets like other goods. This – along with tough enforcement – has helped to clean up the industry, prevented responsible re-sellers from moving offshore, and kept jobs and tax revenues in the State. “We urge the UK Government to follow suit here and learn from the US. We would happily use our knowledge of and experience in the market to work with the Government, regulators, politicians and anyone else interested in getting a better deal for all live entertainment fans.” The Fair Ticketing Alliance was launched to campaign for a fair, trustworthy and flexible ticket market that works for all live entertainment fans. The Alliance was set up by a group of responsible UK ticket traders representing a cross section of the industry. It comes in the wake of increasing market uncertainty which threatens the future of their mainly small, often family-run, businesses and the valuable service they provide to fans.

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NOTES TO EDITORS More information about the Fair Ticketing Alliance can be found on its website: www.fairticketing.co.uk or by following us on Twitter: @FairTicketing Media contact: Pete Bowyer press@fairticketing.co.uk 07740 913886
[LONDON, 16 April 2018] Today sees the launch of the newly created Fair Ticketing Alliance to campaign for a fair, trustworthy and flexible ticket market that works for all live entertainment fans. The Alliance was set up by a group of responsible UK ticket traders representing a cross section of the industry. It comes in the wake of increasing market uncertainty which threatens the future of their mainly small, often family-run, businesses and the valuable service they provide to fans. The campaign aims to lobby for changes in UK law to give responsible, secondary operators the right to re-sell tickets whilst protecting consumer interests. Fair Ticketing Association chairman, Stephen Lee said: “The ticketing market is currently failing to address the needs of live entertainment fans in the UK. A well-functioning secondary market should correct flaws in the primary market, but we are hamstrung by legal uncertainty that helps neither operators nor consumers. “We believe responsible commercial operators should be free to re-sell tickets, like consumers, without unfair restrictions. In return, operators should be properly licensed and comply with the highest standards of ethics.” The Fair Ticketing Alliance has three core objectives which it is campaigning for: 1. Greater legal and regulatory clarity about existing UK laws on secondary ticketing; 2. Government and regulatory bodies to ensure that secondary website platforms allow traders to comply fully with the law; 3. Changes in UK laws to give responsible, secondary operators the right to re-sell tickets whilst protecting consumer interests. The Government deserves praise for introducing reforms into the secondary market that have led to some positive results to protect consumers. However, the Fair Ticketing Alliance believes more needs to be done to reform the market as a whole by licensing secondary operators who meet the highest standards and introducing more transparency into the primary market. The Alliance intends to start speaking out on behalf of the industry and to engage politicians and others for legislative and regulatory changes that will improve the consumer experience, whilst protecting jobs and tax revenues for the Government. Mr Lee concluded: “For too long, the secondary ticketing industry has been in the shadows, suffering from a poor reputation, afraid to defend itself. We aim to change that. We’re all extremely passionate and have a deep knowledge of the entertainment areas in which we specialise, which enables us to provide a valuable and necessary service to other live entertainment fans. We just want to do the right thing within the law. “That’s why we created the Fair Ticketing Alliance. We hope others who support our aims will join us in the campaign to improve the ticketing experience for all fans.”

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NOTES TO EDITORS More information about the Fair Ticketing Alliance can be found on its website: www.fairticketing.co.uk or by following us on Twitter: @FairTicketing Media contact: Pete Bowyer press@fairticketing.co.uk 07740 913886
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