Viagogo head behind the Toblerone Curtain

Viagogo, the closest you can get to touting without being a tout company, have fled the UK to set up shop in the more relaxed legal atmosphere of Switzerland. Music Week discovered this:

Speaking to Music Week, a Viagogo representative said that although the firm was now not bound by British law, it would stick to its customer guarantee which "goes far beyond any UK trading regulations".

According to filings with Companies House, Viagogo UK changed its name to Consolidated Information Services Ltd. last month, before liquidating its assets.

Meanwhile, it set up a new company in mainland Europe - Viagogo AG, based in Switzerland.

The company would now appear to be bound by Swiss law and EU law, but not regulations in the UK.

But, hey, if Viagogo say you don't need to worry about any silly laws guaranteeing your rights, why would you worry, eh? It's not like they're the sort of company that would suddenly vanish from the UK and turn up wearing lederhosen claiming there's always been a cuckoo clock element to their business, is it?

Music Week suggests the move might be more about swerving the ban on selling Olympic tickets at a massive mark-up; personally, I'd avoid them unless you're after tickets for something in Lucerne.

[Thanks to @pedrodee]

Radiohead: Can't keep touts out

Radiohead were pretty clear: they didn't want electrotouts ViaGoGo selling their tickets on at a profit. Indeed, they even did a deal with Ticket Trust to make mark-uped selling-on pointless.

It hasn't stopped ViaGoGo from grabbing tickets and whacking them on sale at a massive mark-up - you'd need about £1,600 to be able to purchase from them.

It's odd, ViaGoGo don't seem to understand why they're seen as fundamentally more evil than old-style touts who stood in the rain and would cut you a deal. They really don't understand.

[Thanks to @Pedro_Dee]

Viagogo explain why their tout-alike business isn't actually touting

This week's Music Week catches up with Ed Parkinson. Ed is UK director of Viagogo, who last week Channel 4 made one of the focuses of their Dispatches investigation into the secondary ticket market.

Ed is keen to reassure the world that everything is fine and above board.

But what of that massive pile of credit cards sitting about in your offices, Ed, asks Music Week. He can explain that:

"That practice was really misrepresented by the programme," he said. "We have historically purchased a number of tickets [this way].

"Predominantly, we offer customers a guarantee that if a seller [fails to] get them a ticket, we'll give them their money back or provide a replacement.

"Having a small number of tickets in stock helps us fulfil that guarantee. If they're not used they do get sold on - sometimes at a profit, sometimes at a discount."

Is that clear, then?

It's not that ViaGoGo pretends to be individual buyers in order to purchase tickets which they can then sell on at a hefty mark-up.

It's simply that ViaGoGo pretend to be individual buyers in order to purchase tickets which they will then seel on at a hefty mark-up if nobody else provides them with tickets to sell on at a hefty mark-up.

And how can that be in any way questionable, because the company have done this "historically". And, besides, they have a "guarantee" which they have to fulfil. Which makes it okay, yeah?

[Cheers to @Pedro_Dee for the tip]

Viagogo tries to close down Dispatches investigation

Tonight, Channel 4 shows a Dispatches investigation into prices charged by "official" secondary ticket agencies - you know, the ones which save us from having to pay rip-off prices to touts by, erm, charging rip-off prices.

The programme nearly didn't get to air, though, as Viagogo went to court to get an injunction.

And what were the grounds for trying to stop the programme?

Erm...

Viagogo tried to prevent the programme being broadcast "to prevent customer information being made public", according to its UK director, Edward Parkinson.

Ah, that would be it. It wasn't worried about being portrayed as a mark-up shark-site; it was just worried about its customers being outed.

Mind you, if you're paying the eye-watering prices charged routinely by Viagogo, chances are you'd have to be a Duke or someone working for RBS. Doubtless you'd value your privacy.

"I bought my tickets off a man with no nose" "How do they smell?" "

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal revealed how Britney Spears and Neil Diamond appeared to be scalping their own tickets.

Today, sister paper The Times reveals that Michael Jackson has been doing the same thing - or, at least, the promoter of his shows:

The Times understands that outside the official sale of the tickets, AEG Live approached secondary ticketing companies — which allow people to resell tickets to sporting and music events — offering to provide them directly with between 500 and 1,000 tickets for each performance.

It is thought that AEG Live offered the tickets on the understanding that they were sold at about £500 each, with 80 per cent of the revenue returning to AEG Live and the secondary ticketing company taking the remaining 20 per cent.

Last night tickets for seats closest to the stage were on sale on Viagogo for thousands of pounds. Other seats in prime locations seemed to be on sale at surprisingly uniform rates, with many priced at £418 and £659.

AEG Live did not deny its links to Viagogo. The company previously said in a statement: “In an effort to ensure fans are able to purchase premium tickets and exchange tickets directly with other fans, AEG Live has entered into an agreement with Viagogo. The online site allows people to buy and sell live event tickets in a safe and guaranteed way.”

Is it just me, or does that statement totally miss the point - the question would seem to be 'have you deliberately started selling tickets on the secondary market, rather than sell them for face value', to which that is not an answer.

There is an argument that some, or perhaps all, tickets for popular events be sold through an auction; but surely the most important thing is that the process is transparent?

If AEG wants to charge £500 for a £50 ticket, why can't it be honest about it?