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KYLIE TAKES ON THE TOUTS
We're impressed that Kylie has taken steps to stop people who want to see her play live being ripped off. She's having the ticket agencies cancel sales to people who appear to be reselling them on eBay, thereby saving fans from paying hundreds for a pair of tickets to her comeback show.
Oddly, though, she didn't seem bothered at the people being ripped off by having to pay £100 plus booking fees for the same tickets. But that's the official price, of course. Once again it seems less like a noble attempt to ensure nobody pays stupid prices, more an attempt to ensure that any profiteering is done by the agencies and artists.
Interestingly, Kylie's gig is being promoted by Harvey Goldsmith, who has a bit of a track record for complaining about eBay touting. He's still fuming:
“eBay are an absolute disgrace. They have no right to be doing what they are doing.
“They are a thorn in the side of this industry. Every time we do a show we have to track eBay down, we have to find the seats and we cancel them. We will continue to do so.”
We will continue to put as much pressure on eBay as we possibly can to get them to see sense.
“It is doing them a disservice, the public a disservice and it is doing the artists a disservice.”
It's interesting to hear Goldsmith getting so red-faced about the idea of things being bought and sold in an open market.
We're still bemused as to how the sale of tickets does a "disservice" to artists, though. They have decided on an (often eye-watering) price for their gig, and they have received this.
Sure, it's unfair on the fans who don't have very much money that they can't afford to go, but it's equally unfair that, say, a teacher living in Liverpool would have to try and find £100 for the official prices, another £100 or so for travel, and another £100 for a hotel in London. That prices just as many people out of the event, surely? Most people can't afford three hundred quid for a nightout, and so it makes little difference if they're unable to afford £900, either.
Of course, if SeeTickets really wanted to do something about stopping touts buying up large blocks of tickets, perhaps they could stop selling tickets in large blocks. For example, Primal Scream tickets in Liverpool? Why not have ten? Fancy going to Cardiff Calling? pick up ten for that, too.
It's all very well getting cross with eBay, but if you're flogging tickets by the bucketload, you're facilitating the very people who you claim to be against. It's like crowbar manufacturers complaining about tool thefts.
2 comments:
what i don't understand is why the industry is failing to see that a lot of average gigs by no-mark bands are selling much faster than ever precisely because people are buying them to sell them on. and i'm sure a lot end up being sold for less than face value because there just isn't the damand that the amateur touts think there is..
You could always try writing to Tessa Jowell about it. I did. She promised me an answer within 18 working days. It never came.
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