Ed Sheeran’s manager has revealed that the pop star’s team will be enforcing a new strategy to combat ticket touts at upcoming gigs.
Scottish newspaper the Daily Record reported that a “smarter and more streamlined” system is set to be implemented at Sheeran’s gigs as the global superstar seeks to further clamp down on touts.
Earlier this year, Sheeran asked fans to purchase new face-value tickets at the Etihad Stadium door in Manchester if they had acquired their passes through secondary ticketing site Viagogo, as they would be considered invalid. Although several fans showed up with the invalid tickets and were asked to pay the full £80 for a face-value ticket, Sheeran at the time insisted his strong approach would ultimately benefit fans in the long run.
Sheeran’s manager Stuart Camp has been speaking following last week’s announcement that Ticketmaster is to close the Get Me In! and Seatwave secondary ticketing sites and launch a new fan-to-fan exchange.
Speaking to the Record, Camp revealed that a number of top managers and promoters were invited to a meeting prior to last week’s announcement, which has gone down well in the industry.
Camp told the Record: “I like to think what we’re doing is like a big cannonball running down a tunnel. The touts are running ahead like Indiana Jones and sooner or later it’s going to catch them up and squash them.
“With Ticketmaster’s announcement, there’s a signal that resale is all going to be capped as the norm and I’m really chuffed. I’m hoping it’s the seismic move we’ve been working towards.”
Although Camp would not disclose details of what exactly is planned for Sheeran’s upcoming gigs, he said all would be revealed shortly. “We are announcing some more shows at the end of September and we already know exactly what we will be doing to counter the touts this time,” he said.
“I can’t tell you what the details are but we won’t be resting on our laurels and we have a plan to really f*** them up this time. We will be revealing details of that very soon.
“We are keeping a lot of what we did on this tour. It’s all about education and support – but with the experience we now have, we are a bit smarter and we think we can make it impossible for touts to do their thing next time round.”
Image: Markus Hillgärtner
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