The price at which tickets for live events can be resold is to be capped under “gamechanging” proposals put forward by the government to crack down on touting in the sector.
In a move hailed by music industry figures, the culture minister, Lisa Nandy, has launched a consultation that she said would end the “misery” of fans being exploited by touts, some of whom have made huge profits by selling hundreds of tickets a year.
Ministers will also look at dynamic pricing, the controversial model used by Oasis last year for their reunion tour, which meant fans who queued online for tickets were shown a much greater price than advertised at checkout, with limited time to decide on the purchase.
It follows years of campaigning by politicians, musicians and the theatre industry to stop professional “resellers” hoovering up tickets at the expense of fans and selling them on for huge mark-ups in alliance with platforms such as Viagogo and StubHub, which take a cut of the profits.
This “secondary” ticketing market has provoked outrage among music fans and those purchasing tickets for West End shows including Hamilton and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
The public consultation will consider views on capping resale prices at a 30% uplift, and on limiting the number of tickets that resellers can list to match the maximum they are allowed to buy on the primary market.
A spokesperson for the music industry campaign group FanFair Alliance said: “These suggested measures are potentially gamechanging. Other countries, notably Ireland, have demonstrated how legislation to prevent the resale of tickets for profit can massively curb the illegal and anti-consumer practices of online ticket touts and offshore resale platforms. The UK simply needs to follow their example.”
The plans also include creating legal obligations for resale websites and apps so they are held responsible by trading standards and the competition watchdog for the accuracy of information they provide to buyers.
Last year, the Guardian revealed how touts discussed plans to derail Labour’s ticket cap plan, a manifesto pledge, during a secret meeting at a basement venue in London.
Nandy said: “The chance to see your favourite musicians or sports team live is something all of us enjoy and everyone deserves a fair shot at getting tickets – but for too long fans have had to endure the misery of touts hoovering up tickets for resale at vastly inflated prices.”
The musician and DJ Fatboy Slim said: “Great to see money being put back into fans’ pockets instead of resellers.”
The plans were also backed by the music trade bodies UK Music and Live, and the consumer group Which?
A spokesperson for Viagogo said: “We will continue to constructively engage with the government and look forward to responding in full to the consultation and call for evidence on improving consumer protections in the ticketing market.”
The Guardian approached StubHub for comment.
Secondary ticketing platforms have previously said capping resale prices would lead to an increase in outright ticket fraud, where criminals sell fake tickets.
