House of Commons: Culture, Media and Sport Committee Ticket touting: Second Report of Session 2007–08 – DCMS (2007)
Author(s): Culture Media and Sport Committee
Organisation/Affiliation: DCMS
Date: 18/12/2007
Report, including committee minutes along with oral and written evidence, on the matter of ‘ticket touting’- i.e: the secondary market.
Contains representations from event organisers, ticket agents (including those in the secondary market).
Favours voluntary over statutory regulation.
Notes that there is uncertainty regarding the legal status of prohibitions on the resale of ticket and suggests that the Office of Fair Trading needs to clarify matters on this front.
Rejects banning the secondary market on the grounds that it is freely used by many consumers and would involve the criminalization of an activity that was previously lawful on the grounds of sectoral industrial interests- which would be impractical and improper.
Points out that bans on resale of tickets for other events (such as sporting events) are due to factors other than secondary ticketing as an activity in itself. Nevertheless, the report highlights that there are unacceptable practices which run counter to consumer interests (mostly involving misrepresentation of the product, such as when tickets are advertised that are not yet on sale.
Recommends that sellers provide more information- including the location of seats and the face value of the tickets.
Endorses the proposal by the Music Managers Forum that a voluntary scheme be put in place to remit a proportion of profits from the secondary market to event organisers in return for an endorsement of and recognition of the legitimacy of members of such a scheme.