GET ME IN!

Aug 13, 2018

Controversial secondary ticketing sites will be replaced by fan-to-fan exchanges Last modified on Mon 13 Aug 2018 04.08 EDT Ed Sheeran is among the artists who have protested against tickets being resold on sites such as Seatwave for inflated prices.Photograph: Richard Isaac/Rex/Shutterstock Ticketmaster is to shut down its two resale sites, GetMeIn and Seatwave, amid persistent criticism of so-called “secondary ticketing” platforms used by touts . The ticketing company, owned by global promoter and venue operator LiveNation, said it would replace the two websites with a fan-to-fan exchange selling tickets only at face value or below. The move leaves Viagogo and StubHub, both of which were raided by the Competition and Markets Authority last year in a probe into breaches of consumer law, as the last two major resale platforms. Bravo Ed Sheeran for taking on the rip-off 'secondary ticketing' touts | Adam Webb Read more Secondary sites have been criticised for making it easy for professional touts to charge huge mark-ups for in-demand artists such as Adele and Ed Sheeran , after harvesting tickets for face value prices at the expense of fans. After the sites close down in October, fans will be able to resell tickets on Ticketmaster for no more than the original price plus booking fee. No new events will be listed on the sites from 13 August. Fans buying tickets through Ticketmaster will be given clear information about whether they are purchasing resold tickets. The Ticketmaster UK managing director, Andrew Parsons, said: We know that fans are tired of seeing tickets being snapped up just to find them being resold for a profit on secondary websites, so we have taken action. “Closing down our secondary sites and creating a ticket exchange on Ticketmaster has always been our long-term plan. We’re excited to launch our redesigned website which will make buying and selling tickets fast and simple, with all tickets in the same place. How can Viagogo get away with charging such big fees? Read more “Our new Ticketmaster ticket exchange lets fans sell tickets they can’t use directly through their Ticketmaster account, for the price originally paid or less.” While many of the people using these sites are genuine fans who cannot attend an event and want to recoup their money, in recent years the practice has become increasingly dominated by a relatively small group of “armchair” touts . These traders use a variety of methods , some exposed in previous Guardian reporting , to harvest hundreds of tickets before genuine fans can get hold of them. Labour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, welcomed Ticketmaster’s decision to close down GetMeIn and Seatwave. Sign up to the daily Business Today email or follow Guardian Business on Twitter at @BusinessDesk “Ticketmasters move to close down their secondary platforms and concentrate resale efforts on their primary site is a welcome move,” he said. “By ensuring that real fans can legitimately and securely resell a ticket, they have put the interests of artists and fans above the touts. “ I hope that other primary ticket providers will follow suit and tell the touts that their time is up.” Topics