It’s only a few days ago we reported that whist eBay.co.uk growth is 10% the tickets and travel category has an explosive 1328% growth in the last year. Now it’s under threat as Tessa Jowell, Culture Secretary discusses moves to limit the resale of tickets.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is welcoming moves to enforce better resale information and exchange facilities for unwanted tickets but the Concert Promoters’ Association* are pushing for an outright ban. The Department acknowledges that some high profile events such as the Concert for Diana may need more regulation.
We’ve discussed tickets many times on TameBay, just what makes a concert ticket different to any other commodity that’s in short supply? If someone has something I want at a price I’m willing to pay why should the government restrict my right to purchase? At the end of the day if a concert organiser wishes to ensure tickets are not resold they should take some lessons from the organisers of this years Glastonbury concert.
No one has yet explained exactly who is paying excessive prices if it’s not the “real fans”, anyone willing to part with hundreds of pounds above the face price of the ticket must be pretty keen to obtain it. At the end of the day if the concert organisers had enough tickets for everyone that wanted to attend there wouldn’t be a problem. As with any product when there is a shortage the market will find it’s own price.
There is more bad news to come for ticket sellers, sports events and theatre tickets are also under the spotlight. Although the government declined to introduce new legislation at this time they point out that the EU Unfair Commercial Practices Directive on the 12th December this year. This will restrict ticket sales even further.
Jowell kindly points out that they’re not trying to criminalise genuine fans who for whatever reason wish to dispose of tickets they’re unable to make use of. That doesn’t do much for profits of sellers on eBay though, if they restrict ticket sales what next? Will they start regulating the cost of games consoles and other goods too?
*We are unable to locate a website for the Concert Promoters’ Association but their telephone number is 01491 575 060
One Response
The DCMS’s action plan for stopping ticket touting interestingly *does* include a proposal for a website by the Concert Promoters’ Association, “where fans can exchange tickets at face value”, as well as “a drive to work with the Office of Fair Trading to draw up terms of conditions and kite marks for ticket sales websites, so that consumers know they are buying from an approved agent”.
As far as I know, no part of this action plan, published 17th July 2006, has yet been actioned, and it looks to me like today’s “discussions” are just going over the same ground again. Frankly I think this is just populism on Ms. Jowell’s part: it *will* be a move that the majority of fans, who want cheaper tickets, will like… though I would be interested to see to what extent tout purchases prop up the prices of less publicised events.
I really don’t think this is as simple as “touts buy tickets cheap and sell dear to genuine fans”.