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A new scheme, whereby tickets could be resold subject to agreed terms and conditions, could legitimise certain types of ticket touting, a report by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee suggests. The report, published earlier this month, acknowledges that not all of the secondary market in tickets for cultural, entertainment and sporting events is problematic, although it condemns the sale of free tickets issued for charitable events and the resale of low-priced tickets aimed at specific groups such as schools or clubs.

The Committee has called on the DCMS to undertake more research into the issues of ticket touting, and has noted the potential of learning from experiences in Australia, the USA and elsewhere in Europe. The report specifically endorses an initiative of the Music Managers Forum, which is seeking agreement for a voluntary scheme under which ticket resellers would pay a proportion of their profits to event organisers, in the same way that artists can now benefit from sales of their works through resale royalties. In return, organisers would agree to recognise the legitimacy of the reseller and not seek to invalidate tickets acquired in this way. The ‘primary market’ should also do more to help ‘genuine’ supporters who cannot attend an event or performance for ‘genuine reasons’ to mitigate their losses via refund or voucher schemes.