UK Resumes Secondary Ticketing Inquiry

Maurice – UK Resumes Secondary Ticketing Inquiry

The UK’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee has launched a new inquiry into live music, with a focus on the struggles for grassroots music venues as well as secondary ticketing.

The commission had already launched an inquiry last year, but it was cut short by Prime Minister Theresa May’s call for a snap general election.
The inquiry included hearings with industry professionals, who shared their knowledge about the live business, including the effects of secondary ticketing, with the politicians. Viagogo notably failed to send a representative to one such hearing.

The new inquiry launched on Jan. 19. It will incorporate previous findings and again attempt to invite ticket resellers to contribute evidence. Committee chair Damian Collins MP said, “this inquiry will be an opportunity for the Committee to revisit the important issue of secondary ticket selling. We want to hear from the public about their direct experiences with this issue and what they think can be done to tackle it.” 

“We’ll also investigate what problems many small music venues face, as they struggle to keep their doors open despite the unwavering enthusiasm from the British public for live music.”

Collins also welcomed the recent embrace of the agent of chance principle by the UK parliament, which is going to put the onus of sound proofing on developers coming into an area, where there are live music venues. “As part of this new inquiry, we’ll be exploring other ways in which the Government can support upcoming artists and grassroots venues that form such a crucial part of the music scene in the UK,” Collins said.

Other fields the committee intends to look into include music tourism, the impact of Brexit, sustainability as well as the general impact of live events, which attracted over 30 million music fans to the UK in 2016, with music tourism contributing £4 billion to the UK economy.