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Some of the biggest names in music, including Coldplay, Dua Lipa and Radiohead, have issued a joint plea to the government, urging ministers to honour a long-standing pledge to cap ticket resale prices. They join a formidable list of artists, including The Cure’s Robert Smith, New Order, Mark Knopfler, Iron Maiden, PJ Harvey and Mercury Prize winner Sam Fender, in signing a statement that calls for a cap to "restore faith in the ticketing system" and "help democratise public access to the arts". The coalition extends beyond musicians, encompassing consumer watchdog Which?, FanFair Alliance, O2, the Football Supporters’ Association, and various organisations representing the music and theatre industries, venues, managers, and ticket retailers. In their collective statement, the group asserts that new protections are vital to "help fix elements of the extortionate and pernicious secondary ticketing market that serve the interests of touts, whose exploitative practices are preventing genuine fans from accessing the music, theatre and sports they love". The statement highlights how "certain resale platforms have allowed touts to bulk buy and then resell tickets at inflated prices, forcing fans to either pay above the odds or miss out entirely. This erodes trust in the live events sector and undermines the efforts of artists and organisers to make shows accessible and affordable." It concludes: "Introducing a cap will restore faith in the ticketing system, help democratise public access to the arts in line with the Government’s agenda and make it easier for fans to spot illegal behaviour, such as ticketing fraud." The Labour manifesto previously promised stronger protections against touts using bots to bulk-buy tickets for resale at huge mark-ups. The government subsequently pledged to cap resale prices to combat online touts. However, more than a year after this initial promise and seven months since its consultation on the issue closed, there has been no clear indication of when new legislation will be introduced. This renewed call comes as a new investigation by Which? exposes the scale of the problem, revealing prolific sellers in locations such as Brazil, Dubai, Singapore, Spain and the US hoovering up tickets for popular UK events. These are then relisted at vastly inflated prices on platforms like StubHub and Viagogo. Which? uncovered Oasis tickets for Wembley Stadium shows listed for an astonishing £3,498.85 on StubHub and £4,442 on Viagogo. A seat for an NFL clash between the Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was priced at £3,568.39 on StubHub, while a Coldplay ticket for Wembley Stadium reached £814.52 on the same platform. Most shockingly, a ticket for the All Points East festival in London’s Victoria Park, headlined by Raye, was listed for £114,666 on Viagogo. The watchdog also found it was often difficult for buyers to establish the seller’s identity or contact them, despite a 2018 court order requiring Viagogo to outline trader identities. Evidence of speculative selling was also found, where tickets are listed before the seller has even purchased them. For instance, tickets for a Busted vs McFly show in Glasgow, available through Ticketmaster, were simultaneously listed on StubHub and Viagogo at double the price. Lisa Webb, a consumer law expert at Which?, commented: "Today’s joint statement makes clear that artists, fan organisations and consumers reject the broken ticketing market that has allowed touts to thrive for too long. “The Prime Minister pledged to protect fans and a price cap on resold tickets will be a critical step towards fixing this industry, but he must commit to this legislation by including it in the next King’s Speech." She added that further reforms are needed to ensure sellers own tickets before advertising them, and that resale platforms verify seller identities and ticket information. Adam Webb, campaign manager at FanFair Alliance, stated: "FanFair Alliance has campaigned against the exploitative activities of online ticket touts since 2016. Operating via under-regulated, offshore resale platforms, their parasitical and frequently unlawful practices cost UK ticket buyers hundreds of millions of pounds each year." He argued that a cap is the "only pragmatic way to address this problem," citing its success in countries like Ireland and Australia. UK Music chief executive Tom Kiehl echoed these sentiments: "UK Music fully supports a ticket resale price cap to support all those music lovers who have felt forced to pay exorbitant prices on the secondary market. “We are calling on the Government to swiftly deliver on its pre-election promise to bring in a price cap. It’s high time we delivered for the fans who are the lifeblood of our industry and drive ticket touts out of business once and for all." A government spokeswoman responded: "This Government is fully committed to clamping down on touts and is going further to put fans back at the heart of live events. We have carefully considered evidence provided in response to our consultation earlier this year and will set out our plans shortly."
