The FanFair Alliance campaign was established in July 2016 to fight back against “industrial-scale online ticket touting” – and over the past 12 months we’ve seen monumental changes to the UK’s “secondary ticketing” landscape.
A concerted effort from Government, from the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA), National Trading Standards (NTS), and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has started to crack down on bad practices.
Google recognised they have a role to play.
AXS and Ticketmaster joined the rest of the primary market in supporting capped resale.
And as a result of these actions, artists have been empowered.
With the backing of enforceable consumer protection legislation, those who don’t want their audiences ripped off and exploited can take practical steps to disrupt the touts. They can promote consumer-friendly alternatives for ticket resale.
Meanwhile, fans who were mis-sold to have reclaimed hundreds of thousands of pounds using the free Victim of Viagogo self-help guidance.
Here’s a quick recap of what’s occurred in 2018.
– Viagogo: currently under a court order to overhaul their business practices by January 17th.
– StubHub: lost their major UK music contracts, need to comply with undertakings agreed with the CMA by January 17th
– AXS: introduced Flash Seats technology, soon to launch a capped resale marketplace
– Ticketmaster: closed Get Me In! and Seatwave, now offer a capped resale service
– Google: introduced a new global certification policy for ticket resellers
– Government: new legislation introduced to prevent bulk-purchasing via specialised software; the Consumer Rights Act was bolstered (UTNs) and clarified (with updated guidance); Creative & Digital Minister, Margot James MP, warned the public to avoid Viagogo; the DCMS Select Committee included secondary ticketing as part of their Live Music inquiry.
– ASA: have stopped Viagogo from drip pricing
– Touts: trials for a number of large-scale UK sellers are scheduled for July 2019.
For a more detailed account, please click here.
Or to get in touch, please drop us an email at info@fanfairalliance.org