Ticket touts ‘costing UK gig-goers £145m a year’

Ticket touts are costing music fans in the UK an extra £145 million (€174m) a year, according to new research by O2 and YouGov.

O2 has shared data based on a recent online survey of 2,044 adults, which reveals that approximately one in five tickets end up on a resale platform, while almost half (48%) of music fans who have attended live music events find it difficult to identify a secondary ticketing site.

In addition, O2, which sold 1.4 million tickets via its Priority customer reward platform in 2023, says it stopped more than 50,000 suspected bots from entering the platform over a six-week period, and is calling on the government and online platforms to do more to protect consumers.

“We are tired of professional ticket touts abusing the ticket marketplace and stealing tickets out of fans’ hands, only to immediately re-list them at inflated prices,” says Gareth Griffiths, director, partnerships and sponsorship at O2. “Music fans deserve the chance to buy tickets at a price set by their favourite artist, but all too often they are forced to pay a price decided by a stranger on the internet. Consumers deserve more protection and better information about the tickets they’re paying for.”

The £145m figure was calculated using data from UK Music’s Here, There and Everywhere 2023 report and YouGov survey data.

“We will not stop until we are fully confident in the fairness of the UK’s ticketing industry”

O2, which is a longtime supporter of UK-based FanFair Alliance, which campaigns against industrial-scale ticket touting, says better legislation, clearer information and clearer identification is required to help combat confusion in the marketplace.

Prime minister Keir Starmer has previously pledged to introduce new legislation to cap ticket resale, with the UK government currently preparing to launch a consultation into the secondary ticketing market. Culture secretary Lisa Nandy told the Labour Party conference earlier this week: “We’re taking action on rip-off ticket touts because culture belongs to everybody.”

Labour MP Sharon Hodgson, who is chair of the APPG for ticket abuse, adds: “I have fought tirelessly alongside FanFair Alliance to end ticketing abuse and ensure that my constituents, and people across our country, have fair access to the events that bring us together, without falling victim to exploitative touts.

“These new insights serve to further demonstrate the desire amongst music fans for change and we look forward to collaborating with O2 and the music industry to bring that change about. We will not stop until we are fully confident in the fairness of the UK’s ticketing industry.”

Last week in the US, the National Independent Talent Organization (NITO) filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), alleging widespread violations of the BOTS Act by ticket resellers. The advocacy group’s complaint is backed by dozens of signatories including Red Light Management, Q Prime, Arrival Artists, Ground Control Touring, Mint Talent Group and Paladin Artists.

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