Why do secondary ticket sites get away with widely inflated prices? Because audiences are willing to pay more than we think, and that can only be a good thing, argues Dan Eastmond.
Secondary ticketing sites, ticket resellers, touts, whatever you like to call them, have had a pretty bad rap of late. Hounded by politicians and campaign groups for their ultra-commercial, high margin, ‘it’s not quite cricket is it’ growth and success in recent years, and the all too easy creep into outright fraud. They’re the cultural entrepreneurs we love to hate, unless of course your mates blow you out when you’ve just bought four tickets for a show, or Kate Bush’s box office leaves you hanging for 15 minutes and finally spits you out empty handed and pissed off.
But setting dodgy practices aside – like keeping the face value hidden, hiding the terms of resale, or (my favourite) venues and promoters sending tickets straight to secondary platforms (yes, we see you) – the fact that there is a healthy, impulsive, even reckless cultural economy, that can stretch out for two or even three transactions, where tickets regularly go up in value in secondary markets, should be celebrated... Keep reading on The Stage
Secondary ticketing sites, ticket resellers, touts, whatever you like to call them, have had a pretty bad rap of late. Hounded by politicians and campaign groups for their ultra-commercial, high margin, ‘it’s not quite cricket is it’ growth and success in recent years, and the all too easy creep into outright fraud. They’re the cultural entrepreneurs we love to hate, unless of course your mates blow you out when you’ve just bought four tickets for a show, or Kate Bush’s box office leaves you hanging for 15 minutes and finally spits you out empty handed and pissed off.
But setting dodgy practices aside – like keeping the face value hidden, hiding the terms of resale, or (my favourite) venues and promoters sending tickets straight to secondary platforms (yes, we see you) – the fact that there is a healthy, impulsive, even reckless cultural economy, that can stretch out for two or even three transactions, where tickets regularly go up in value in secondary markets, should be celebrated... Keep reading on The Stage