Featured Image: Lachy Spratt/ Unsplash
Analysis from telecommunications giant O2 and research and data company YouGov has shown that ticket touts are profiting from music fans to the tune of £145m (€174m/$194m) per year in the UK.
New research has also suggested that nearly half (48%) of live music fans who have attended events are ‘not confident’ in identifying a ticket resale platform.
O2 sold 1.4 million tickets through its Priority customer reward platform in 2023, and revealed that in a six-week period it had stopped more than 50,000 suspected bots from entering its Priority platform.
The company has called on the government for better legislation against the resale of concert tickets for significant profits, with O2’s research demonstrating that 63% of music fans have attended live events believing there should be rules in place around ticket resale.
It has also said that there should be clearer information during the sale process on ticket resale platforms, and clearer identification of resale sites on search engines.
“We are tired of professional ticket touts abusing the ticket marketplace and stealing tickets out of fans’ hands, only to immediately relist them at inflated prices. Music fans deserve the chance to buy tickets at a price set by their favourite artist, but all too often they are forced to pay a price decided by a stranger on the internet,” said Gareth Griffiths, director of partnerships and sponsorship at O2.
“Consumers deserve more protection and better information about the tickets they’re paying for.”
O2 has long supported FanFair Alliance, a UK campaign against industrial-scale online ticket touting.
“I have fought tirelessly alongside FanFair Alliance to end ticketing abuse and ensure that my constituents, and people across our country, have fair access to the events that bring us together, without falling victim to exploitative touts,” added Sharon Hodgson, Member of Parliament for Washington & Gateshead South, and chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Ticket Abuse.
“These new insights serve to further demonstrate the desire amongst music fans for change and we look forward to collaborating with O2 and the music industry to bring that change about. We will not stop until we are fully confident in the fairness of the UK’s ticketing industry.”
The UK Government revealed last month that there will be a consultation this autumn around resale ticketing.
Share this