Secondary ticketing agencies should embrace new calls for transparency

The last few weeks have seen an increasing push toward transparency in the secondary ticketing industry, both in the way agents advertise themselves and in how they structure transactions.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled last week that secondary ticketing agents such as StubHub, Viagogo and Seatwave must make all fees — including ticket price, booking fees, delivery fees and VAT — clear from the start of booking. The move comes hot on the heels of a ruling last month outlawing use of language such as “official” or “guaranteed”, which has been deemed to cause consumer confusion; indeed, many consumers find it difficult to differentiate between primary and secondary ticketing sources.

A strong, viable secondary market contributes to the overall health of the industry. In an independent review of the UK’s secondary ticketing market commissioned by the government and presented to parliament in 2016, Professor Michael Waterson concluded that “consumers and the economy benefit in various ways from the existence of a well-functioning secondary ticket market.”

However, there are currently many drawbacks to the secondary ticketing market, both real and perceived. In a statement this week, The FanFair Alliance said that consumers have “three recurring complaints: they were directed via Google advertising towards these sites, they thought they were purchasing from an authorised seller, and they were misled on pricing”.

It is estimated that Britons squandered over £5 million on counterfeit tickets in 2015 alone; and while many secondary agents have protections and guarantees in place to protect consumers from unfulfilled or fraudulent purchases, the reality is that this can never be completely stamped out. Whilst refunding a ticket that is void or doesn’t arrive may offer some degree of recompense, it doesn’t make up for the fan’s disappointment in missing the event they’d been looking forward to! The likelihood is that that disappointed fan will not use a secondary ticketing agent again, preferring to go direct to the primary source.

A spokesperson for StubHub said that the company would support “any measures which make ticket buying easier, more convenient and more transparent for fans”. By embracing transparency, secondary ticketing agents can foster positive relationships with users (who may also in the future become sellers). A happy customer is a repeat customer.

Blockchain innovation has been much-lauded as a way to drive greater levels of transparency through the ticketing supply-chain, both for buyers and sellers. The Aventus Protocol’s blockchain-based platform eliminates uncontrolled resale and counterfeit tickets by making ticket transactions — both primary and secondary — transparent and traceable. Buyers can be confident that a ticket is legitimate, as each ticket has a unique identifier and can only exist once on the blockchain. Each ticket has an identity associated with it — it’s current “owner” — changes to which can take place only if tickets are legitimately (and transparently) resold through the blockchain.

The blockchain also lets artists or event organisers set transparent price controls, both ensuring that buyers m no unpleasant surprises further down the line, and enabling parties throughout the supply-chain to receive a portion of revenues for each sale or resale.

By thinking outside of current models and prioritising transparent, consumer-centric ways of working, secondary ticketing agents can avoid some of the current pitfalls and perceptions, while building robust and lasting relationships with consumers and other members of the supply-chain, to the mutual benefit of all.