In a significant victory for music fans and artists alike, the UK government is poised to announce a comprehensive ban on reselling tickets for profit. This long-awaited crackdown will fundamentally reshape the secondary ticketing market.
End of the Road for Touts
The Guardian has learned that ministers will proceed with plans to outlaw the practice of selling tickets above their original face value. This represents a decisive shift from earlier proposals that considered allowing resales at up to 130% of the initial price.
Under the new legislation, neither professional touts nor ordinary consumers will be permitted to charge more than they originally paid for a ticket. This move directly addresses what artists have labelled the "pernicious" impact of ticket touting on live entertainment.
Artists and Industry Reaction
The government's decision follows a powerful open plea from dozens of world-renowned artists just one week prior. Figures including Coldplay, Radiohead, and Dua Lipa urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer to honour Labour's manifesto pledge to tackle the issue.
These plans are expected to be part of next year's King's speech, cementing the policy into law. While the ticket price itself will be capped at face value, resale platforms will still be allowed to charge service fees. However, these additional charges will also face limitations, with the exact cap yet to be determined.
Enforcement and Market Impact
The legislation casts a wide net, extending its governance to social media sites where unregulated ticket sales often occur. Resale platforms had previously warned that such a crackdown could push activity towards these less regulated spaces, potentially increasing fraud.
Key provisions of the new law include:
- A strict prohibition on selling tickets above their original purchase price.
- A ban on sellers offering more tickets than the original box office limit allowed.
- Making resale platforms legally liable for sellers who fail to comply with the new regulations.
Enforcement will fall to the Competition and Markets Authority. The government has decided against implementing a licensing system for ticket resale companies, which was one of the options under consideration.
This regulatory shift raises serious questions about the future of major for-profit resale platforms like Viagogo and StubHub in the UK market. If they can no longer profit from the substantial mark-ups charged by touts, their business model becomes unsustainable.
In recent years, face-value ticket resale sites such as Twickets and Ticketmaster's internal exchange have emerged as ethical alternatives, a trend likely to accelerate following this legislative change.
