Thousands of Metallica fans could be turned away at music venues across the UK as locations in four major cities have united to crackdown on touts.
The O2 Arena in London, the Manchester Arena, the Genting Arena in Birmingham and the SSE Hydro in Glasgow have all aligned with Metallica’s hardline approach to keep touts from making any money off the rock band’s tour.
Fans must show an ID that matches the original name on their ticket, meaning that while supertouts that invested heavily would lose money many fans would also be turned away. If people bought tickets off secondary sites such as StubHub, Viagogo, Get Me In! and Seatwave, it is likely the name on the ticket will not be their own.
Get Me In and Seatwave, which are owned by Metallica promoter Live Nation, recently delisted all sales for the Glasgow gig following pressure from the Daily Record newspaper.
However, tickets on the four big resale sites are still being advertised for Manchester, London and Birmingham, though prices dropped below face value at the O2, as the ID issue became known and demand appeared to shrink.
Metallica fan Jimmy McDill, told the Daily Record: “I tried everything to get tickets on presale and then public sale through Ticketmaster but they were gone in minutes.
“I thought I was getting sorted on Ticketmaster but at the very last moment it redirected me to Get Me In! – their reseller partner – where the prices were all hiked up with big commissions on top.
“The cheapest ticket listed was £140. I didn’t know anything at all about needing ID until I read about it in the Record.
“I wasn’t even aware of the difference between Ticketmaster and Get Me In! and you trust the site because Ticketmaster send you there.”
A spokesman for the Manchester Arena said: “We support, and will enforce, any initiative made by the artist which ensures only genuine fans gain access to this sold-out event. We advise all ticketholders to arrive in plenty of time as, in addition to the enhanced security checks at the venue, ID checks will also take place.”
Image: Kreepin Deth
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