Committee publication · Correspondence · 14 January 2025
Letter from Justin Madders MP, Minister for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets, Department for Business and Trade, and Sir Chris Bryant MP, Minister for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, regarding Putting fans first: A consultation on the resale of live events tickets, dated 10 January 2025
From: Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Inquiry: The work of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Summary
The Department for Business and Trade and Department for Culture, Media and Sport have launched a 12-week consultation and call for evidence on ticket resale and pricing practices in the live events sector. The government seeks views on options including price caps on resale, accountability measures for secondary ticketing platforms, updated consumer protection enforcement, and industry-led transparency improvements, alongside examination of dynamic pricing and consumer fairness issues.
Key findings
- Professional ticket touts are systematically buying tickets on the primary market and reselling at inflated prices, with no profits returning to performers, venues, or local economies.
- Government is considering price caps on resale (e.g., percentage limits above original price) and fixed limits on the number of tickets individuals can resell.
- Consultation proposes placing duties on secondary ticketing platforms to ensure seller information accuracy and considers a licensing regime for resale platforms.
- Call for evidence examines how dynamic pricing and emerging ticketing technologies affect consumer transparency, hidden fees, tiered pricing, and pressure selling.
- Consultation and call for evidence open for 12 weeks, closing 4 April 2025, targeting fans, consumer groups, platforms, enforcement authorities, and industry stakeholders.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Justin Madders MP, Sir Chris Bryant MP, Liam Byrne MP, Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, Department for Business and Trade, Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Notable line
“… professional ticket touts are systematically buying up tickets on the primary market then reselling them to fans at hugely inflated prices, with none of the profits going back to the performer, venue or into the local economy.”
Key Quotes
“… a well-functioning ticket resale market can play an important role: helping to redistribute tickets between genuine fans, allowing those who cannot attend an event to give an opportunity to others to get a ticket, while recouping some or all of their costs.”
“… professional ticket touts are systematically buying up tickets on the primary market then reselling them to fans at hugely inflated prices, with none of the profits going back to the performer, venue or into the local economy.”
“It is important that fans are treated fairly and openly with timely, transparent and accurate information being presented ahead of sales, particularly when demand is high.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗