Industry News

Ed Sheeran refutes Viagogo ‘stitching up’ accusations

Ed Sheeran said he’s not “stitching people up” with his hard stance against ticket touts and the secondary market, claiming it will be positive for fans in the long run.

Last week, the British pop star asked his fans to purchase new face-value tickets at the Etihad Stadium door in Manchester if they had acquired their passes through controversial secondary ticketing site Viagogo, as they would be considered invalid.

Fans had been warned that any tickets purchased through the site would be “unauthorised” and entry would not be granted.

Several fans showed up with the invalid tickets and were asked to pay the £80 for a face-value ticket, while being advised to claim a refund from Viagogo.

Sheeran told the BBC’s Newsbeat that his “strong” approach would “be very positive for fans in the long run”.

He said: “The only people it is going to harm in the end is the touts.

“I hate the idea of people paying more than face value for tickets when you can get them at face value.

“People just need to start taking a stance and within two or three years companies like Viagogo are going to be kaput,” he added.

“I think (Viagogo) are the ones who are pushing out all this stuff that seems really negative, but it will be very positive for fans in the long run.”

Asked about fans having to pay as much as an extra £150 on the night in order to enter his concert, Sheeran said: “What they didn’t print is that they can actually get a refund later.

“It’s all being done properly, I’m not stitching people up.”

He said: “Loads of acts are doing it, Arctic Monkeys, Adele, no one is OK with it.

“The fans are not OK with secondary tickets. Sometimes you can spend all that money and it is a fake ticket.

“I think it is just about being strong and not giving in.”

Image: Edward Christopher