Ticketmaster Slams APPG Report

The APPG now plans to table its findings as amendments to the Consumer Rights Bill, which if carried would regulate a UK secondary market that’s thought to be worth nearly $1.7 billion a year. The Consumer Rights Bill is to be debated in the House of Commons in May.

Within hours of the report being published April 25, Ticketmaster Resale managing director Christoph Homann said the APPG has not listened to industry advice.

“They’ve ignored the facts and the lessons to be learned from other markets where onerous legislation has pushed the resale market underground or offshore – exposing fans to fraudulent cyber touts,” he said. “Fans should not be put in a position where they end up buying tickets on the street and from unsecure sites. “We have responded to what fans want by creating a safe, transparent and lawful environment for the buying and selling of tickets. With its raft of recommendations, the APPG is only serving to harm the secondary ticketing industry, and more importantly, the fans.”

The cross-party group of MPs is calling for greater protection for consumers buying second-hand tickets for cultural and sporting events. It’s recommending compensation for fans falling victim to ticket scams through resale websites, and wants to legally obligate resale websites to publish full information about the tickets they’re offering.

The APPG also wants resale sites to make it clear when tickets have come directly from an event organizer. It says police should be responsible for tracking down and prosecuting anyone committing ticket crimes.

The MPs also called on event organizers to do more to prevent their tickets from being snapped up in large quantities by touts, as well as to establish refund and official exchange systems for genuine fans who find they can’t attend events.

“Nobody’s saying there shouldn’t be a secondary market, but it needs to work in the favour of consumers and the creative sector, not of a few faceless individuals getting rich off the hard work, investment and talent of others,” said APPG co-chairman Mike Weatherley MP, a Conservative who’s also Prime Minister David Cameron’s intellectual property adviser. “The whole industry needs to be much more open. Consumers deserve to know which tickets they’re buying and who they’re buying them from,” he said.

Labour MP Sharon Hodgson, who co-chairs the APPG with Weatherley, said: “There’s no excuse for inaction from either the secondary market or the government, and I hope ministers will use the Consumer Rights Bill to put fans first.”

One setback for the APPG is that new culture secretary Sajid Javid, who two weeks ago replaced Maria Miller, has previously spoken out in support of the secondary market. Three years ago, when Javid was a backbench MP, he told the House of Commons that ticket touts are “classic entrepreneurs” who recognize an opportunity in the market.

The APPG report can be found at putfansfirst.co.uk.