Ticket touts have long been out of control and extracting millions from the music ecosystem The announcement of a cap means scalpers can’t profit from fans by using bot farms Adam Webb from @fanfairalliance.bsky.social has pushed for change since 2012, so was great to chat on this week’s pod

Thanks @drownedinsound.bsky.social - really great to catch up

On Tuesday of last week, FEAT and @fanfairalliance.bsky.social found 100s of tix advertised to gigs across Europe and the UK, with many priced over €1,500. The highest tickets appeared for nearly €4,000 - over 30x the face value. 2/9

I've been considering whether to do this for months. Now that Radiohead tickets are being offered for huge mark-ups on resale sites (as per our story today), I think the time has come. We're going to play a game of Catch The Ticket Tout. 🧵 www.theguardian.com/music/2025/s...

Radiohead have gone to great lengths to stop ticket touts scooping up tickets for their upcoming tour. So how do the resale sites respond? Calls mounting, including from Radiohead, for govt to make good on promise to cap resale prices. www.theguardian.com/music/2025/s...

Radiohead condemn ‘exploitative’ touts and resale sites ahead of tour

StubHub’s valuation has plummeted from $16.5bn in 2024.

The government is considering a ban on for-profit resale of gig/theatre/sports tickets. The likes of Viagogo and StubHub are lobbying furiously against it. But with practices like this going on, they would have only themselves to blame. www.theguardian.com/money/2025/s...

@byrobdavies.bsky.social‬: viagogo Utilising Opaque Practices, False ID And A Breach Of #Ticket Resale T&Cs | @theguardian.com‬ www.theguardian.com/money/2025/s...

Resale ‘subterfuge’: Viagogo sent fan his tickets along with a stranger’s passport

The latest viagogo developments: -potential breaches of data protection law -fraudulent ticket listings -backdoor lobbying with dodgy research -funding bogus “consumer” groups It’s now 5 months since the conclusion of a Govt consultation on ticket touting www.theguardian.com/money/2025/s...

Great to see this. Anyone considering investing in the StubHub / viagogo IPO might want to think again...

More evidence about the true face of viagogo - the world’s biggest ticket touting website, where your tickets may not actually exist. www.thetimes.com/business-mon...

So just had an experience with resale tickets on viagogo.com, would urge extreme caution when using their site. We were supposed to go see a show at Red Rocks this week, and bought tickets through viagogo since Jambase recommended them. Ticket seller never fulfilled and we didn't get in.

Yet more unsavoury (and almost certainly illegal) behaviour revealed by @byrobdavies.bsky.social. The Government have promised to crack down on ticket touts. They should be asking why offshore platforms like StubHub and viagogo are still able to target UK consumers.

This ticket tout is breaking the law. StubHub should clearly be investigated. But by who? The CMA are aware of the situation. [tumbleweeds] The UK Government keep promising a crack down. And yet fans keep being exploited. @byrobdavies.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/business/202...

A great read on 404 about AI and the media. A lot of what @jasonkoebler.bsky.social writes here really chimes with what we’re trying to do in the cultural sphere with @thequietus.com, especially these bits: www.404media.co/the-medias-p...

Couldn’t get Lewis Capaldi tickets? A single tout on StubHub - based in Cyprus - is currently listing *306* standing tickets for the tour’s opening night. He’s also listing on viagogo. We suspect the tickets are fraudulent. These offshore scam platforms should be shut down.

One for the “Don’t threaten us with a good time” dept www.ft.com/content/7cba...

StubHub threatens UK exit if government imposes reseller ticket price caps - on.ft.com/4kKZgfo via @FT

🇬🇧 StubHub threatens UK exit if government imposes reseller ticket price caps

Cheers then StubHub, see ya... #twickets #fanfairalliance www.ft.com/content/7cba...

StubHub International "threaten" to leave the UK market if the Government introduces price caps on ticket resale. This company is: 1. Based outside the UK 2. Employs no UK employees 3. Is reliant on ticket touts for its business Anyone want to hold the door open? www.ft.com/content/7cba...

Fascinating to watch two private businesses - “Get Safe Online” and “We Fight Fraud” - lead the lobbying efforts for viagogo and StubHub. Using research paid for by viagogo and StubHub. Including this advertorial partnership in the New Statesman.

From last week’s Music Fans’ Voice survey: 91% of respondents say “ticket selling at a higher price than face value should be outlawed in the UK” #toutsout

Gideon Gottfried | @fanfairalliance.bsky.social Calls For #Ticket Resale Price Cap In Light Of viagogo's 'Misleading And Potentially Unlawful Practices' | Pollstar news.pollstar.com/2025/04/14/u...

@chrisunlimited.bsky.social: @fanfairalliance.bsky.social Accuses viagogo Of 'Belligerent Disregard For UK Audiences' | @cmuhq.bsky.social completemusicupdate.com/viagogos-bel...

Incredible work by @viagogo.bsky.social Trustpilot scores bumping along at around 1.5 for years. Then along comes a Government consultation to cap ticket resale prices and BOOM. The 5 star user reviews come rushing in.

James Hanley | @fanfairalliance.bsky.social Accuses viagogo Of 'Exploitative And Unlawful Practices' | @iq-mag.net www.iq-mag.net/2025/04/viag...

Up early to talk ticket touts on @bbc5live.bsky.social with @seanfarrington.bsky.social #WakeUpToMoney Viagogo claim they’ve removed fraudulent and unlawful listings detailed in this @byrobdavies.bsky.social piece. We’re continuing to find them… www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Thanks Gideon Gottfried @ Pollstar for this coverage. @fanfairalliance.bsky.social has identified what we think are serial breaches of consumer law by viagogo. Viagogo claim they've taken action to stop fraud. We're yet to see it. This is why we need a price cap on ticket resale.

Great to see this @chrisunlimited.bsky.social write-up. @fanfairalliance.bsky.social has identified what we think are serial breaches of consumer law by viagogo. Viagogo claim they've taken action. We're yet to see it. It's why we need a price cap on ticket resale.

@byrobdavies.bsky.social: Anti-Tout Campaigners Accuse viagogo of 'Misleading And Potentially Unlawful' Practices | @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/money/2025/a...

@chrisunlimited.bsky.social: Advertising Standards Authority Criticises viagogo Over Misleading Promotion | @cmuhq.bsky.social completemusicupdate.com/ad-regulator...

And still the misleading marketing continues. Today's LeedsLiveNews is running a viagogo "advertorial" for £107 Coldplay tickets. But that £107 ticket comes with £54 of fees. (So it's actually a £161 ticket.) Drip pricing is illegal in the UK.

Spelling out why the UK needs to introduce a price cap on ticket resale - thanks @musically.com @stuartdredge.bsky.social musically.com/2025/04/14/f...

Launching as a freelance creative consultant today, supporting disability diversity in arts & culture, climate sustainability & cancer patient advocacy. Please message me if I could be of use to your personal or organisational development. My current availability is May, last 2 weeks in June & July.

Scrutiny is on Viagogo, as the government consults on banning for-profit ticket resale. And yet... www.theguardian.com/money/2025/a...

viagogo claim to have "removed" speculative listings. But we're still seeing the same touts - eg "ФОП Кротова" - trying to resell tickets that haven't been sold in the first place. A cap on resale prices is the *only* way to fix this broken market.

Could viagogo keep their nose clean during a Govt consultation to tackle online ticket touting? We think not... @byrobdavies.bsky.social explains more in @theguardian.com And why there is widespread music industry support for a resale price cap. www.theguardian.com/money/2025/a...

This is our 4th successful ASA ruling against ticket touting websites - with hopefully more to come….

'Following a complaint instigated by FanFair Alliance, viagogo has been reprimanded by the Advertising Standards Authority for misleading claims made during an April 2024 episode of the Political Currency podcast.' Well done @fanfairalliance.bsky.social! fanfairalliance.org/viagogo-repr...

George Osborne and Ed Balls podcast censured for Viagogo promotion

A FanFair spokesperson said: “According to a report by the CMA, 80-100% of the tickets sold through Viagogo in 2019 were priced at more than 20% above face value. It is a website dependent upon large-scale ticket touts.”

@byrobdavies.bsky.social: Advertising Standards Authority Censures Osbourne And Balls Podcast For 'Misleading' viagogo Promotion | @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/money/2025/a...

The ASA have rapped George Osborne and Ed Balls for reading out a misleading Viagogo ad on their Persephonica podcast www.theguardian.com/money/2025/a...

Bet viagogo couldn't believe their luck when a former Chancellor of the Exchequer (and Shadow Chancellor) recited their spin on @polcurrency.bsky.social. New @adstandards.bsky.social ruling published today. Full story @byrobdavies.bsky.social @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/money/2025/a...

The Government's consultation on ticket touting closes this Friday evening. As a reminder of viagogo's exploitative and anti-consumer business practices - here's their current "Last-minute deals" for shows by @deaconbluemusic.bsky.social, David Gray, The Darkness and Louis Dunford...

Yesterday @mancity.com partnered with ticket agency @viagogo.bsky.social who regularly breach regulations & rip off fans. They're the 9th official ticket partner so we, 1894 Group + @tradeunionblues.bsky.social ask fans to act and stay on the concourse for the first 9mins vs Leicester on Weds 💰🚫

Very disappointing to see @mancity working with viagogo as their official resale partner. One thing all football fans can agree on is that touting has no place in the game. #ToutsOut