Ed’s European tour is finally here…keep calm, and check your IDs

11 months ago, I wrote a post commending Ed Sheeran for taking a clear stand against ticket touts in the UK but also asking why his approach is so shortsighted with regards to the rest of his European tour. To review: fans who purchased tickets to his shows back in July 2017 and can no longer attend, have been caught in the crossfire in his battle with touts, with no way to refund their tickets, gift them to friends or sell them, even at face value, because of the “ID must match name” restrictions put in place. While UK-based attendees were given the option to sell these tickets to other fans on Twickets, non-British fans have been left without any option to recoup the money spent if they cannot go.

UPDATE June 28th, 2018: MOJO — the promoter running Ed Sheeran’s Amsterdam dates (28th and 29th), has slightly relaxed its policy on ‘named ticket restrictions’, after numerous complaints from consumers: “you can pass the tickets to friends or family if you give them the following documents to the concert:

• Clear copy of your valid proof of identity
• The original payment receipt from Ticketmaster or bank statement of payment to Ticketmaster.

We can not give them access without these documents. Bring the documents printed out on paper.”

While this alleviates some of the issues we describe below, its late announcement (i.e on the day of the event) and rigid requirement for additional documentation is still likely to cause confusion and unlikely to help most fans recoup money on unwanted tickets. This development illustrates how a policy that harms fans — even made in the name of protecting fans — is ultimately unenforceable, not just because of the chaos it could create at the venue, but also unfair burden it puts on fans.

Back in August, we called for Ed and his management to work together with us at TicketSwap to ensure his European fans are not left out of pocket. We felt that our record of fan-centric resale across Europe and fair price cap would be a good match for Ed’s anti-tout ambitions.

This week, Ed Sheeran will leave the shores of the British Isles and embark on whirlwind tour of the European continent, playing 19 arena shows in 13 cities over 45 days, including Amsterdam, Paris, and Stockholm. For most fans it’s a moment to celebrate but for others, who can’t attend, it could be the moment that their €90-a-pop tickets become worthless.

But in reality, how many people could be affected? With over 5 years operating in the fan to fan resale market, we can safely estimate the average amount of genuine fans who either can’t attend, don’t show or end up selling their tickets for similar sized concerts is nearly 10% of the overall capacity. For the Amsterdam and Paris Ed Sheeran shows at the Johan Cruyff Arena and Stade de France, respectively, that amounts to over 8000 unlucky and unhappy fans who are needlessly out of pocket.

The stated objective of this drastic approach was to protect fans from touts by making it harder for people to use tickets that they did not buy at the original sale. This policy hinges on the impossible task of checking the matching names on IDs and tickets of nearly 80,000 ticket holders entering these venues, which already has caused huge waiting lines and uneven enforcement of the checks as entrance staff try to speed up the entry process.

The unfortunate result has been punishing fans for the activities of touts and the inability (or unwillingness) of promoters and ticket companies to control primary ticket sales. It’s worth mentioning at this point that Kilimanjaro, the UK promoter who organised Sheeran’s UK dates, recently admitted to selling tickets directly to touts in the past, which is hardly an isolated case in the UK live events industry. Also, it’s important to note that while the ticket restrictions may have scared resale sites from listing tickets for the UK dates, they have no qualms about listing them for other dates in Europe.

The most frustrating revelation of this situation is that it’s, at least in part, avoidable. Sheeran and his management took the brave step to take a stand against touting across one of the largest tours in live music history, but they’ve struggled to execute it effectively and without inflicting unnecessary pain on their fans. They prioritised the UK as the primary battlefield against touts and in the process, forgot about millions of fans around the world.

At TicketSwap, we’ve spent over 5 years serving fans and independent promoters with a fair, transparent, and hassle-free alternative to the secondary ticketing status quo. 11 months ago, we were more than happy to lend a helping hand in making Ed’s approach more effective across Europe and fairer for all fans. Our offer still stands and is extended to any artist who tours Europe and expresses a genuine concern for protecting their fans from touts and ticket scams, while still providing a way for fans to sell their spare tickets safely.

In the meantime, we’ll leave you with perhaps the most effective strategy we’ve seen for differentiating between genuine fans and touts…