LONDON (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) – The British government led a “touts summit” this week, leading to a series of measures it hopes will combat ticket scalping across the country.
Ministers from the Department of Media, Culture and Sport met with representatives of the live music industry and ticket sellers, plus members of the sports and theater worlds, to put together a series of ideas on how to deal with unauthorized ticket sales.
At the meeting, organizers created a policy allowing a “returns policy whereby fans can return tickets at face value to the original sellers if they are unable to attend,” creating a first for the industry.
Additionally, the Concert Promoters Association will set up a website that will allow fans to exchanges tickets at face value.
The “touts summit” also looked at introducing a standard mark for ticket sales websites to reassure consumers, as well as witnessing a pledge from those present to continue working on “an over-arching code of practice for both primary and secondary ticket sellers.”
“The innocent victim of ticket touting is the fan who has to pay through the nose for a vastly overpriced ticket to see their sporting, stage or musical hero. These are the people we must protect,” said Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Tessa Jowell according to NME.com. “I have met with the industry three times now and good progress is being made – the steps I am setting out following today’s summit show that.
“But the industry should consider itself on notice – if it hasn't come up with a workable solution to stamping out the most unscrupulous touts by next summer, where there is clear evidence it's needed, we may consider targeted action and changes in legislation to ensure genuine fans are protected from exploitation.” –by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
