Chugg Calls For Scalping Legislation

Promoter Michael Chugg called on the Australian government to introduce consistent legislation through the country to clamp down on ticket scalping.

Chugg’s plea comes after tickets for Radiohead (through Chugg Entertainment) and One Direction (through Nine Live) sold out in minutes and were immediately posted on e-auction sites for four times their face value.

Photo: AP Photo
Sanremo Song Festival, Sanremo, Italy

“There are different laws for different states,” Chugg said. In Queensland, for instance, anti-scalping laws kick in only if tickets are resold at more than 20 percent of value. In Victoria, the laws apply only to major sporting events.

Radiohead dates in six cities sold out in an hour, with $260 pairs drawing bids of up to $11,000. Some sellers are offering up to 10 tickets despite a four-per-customer limit. One Direction sold 13,000 tickets in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in three minutes. The $72 tickets are being offered for $5,000 online.

A 2010 survey by Moshtix found 33.3 percent of fans want ticket reselling regulated, with resellers penalized. Just more than 40 percent think ticketing providers should be responsible for monitoring/regulating ticket resale, and 49 percent believe reselling should be closely monitored but not necessarily regulated.

Fifty-four percent of those surveyed had bought through secondary sellers, and 35 percent of these had paid more than the original ticket price.

Tags