Live industry groups join forces on Europe-wide fan campaign for safe ticket resale

January 18th, 2023

Consumers rights

Upcoming “Make Tickets Fair!” campaign to be unveiled to industry at Eurosonic 2023
Will warn fans of dangers of buying resale tickets and aim to rebuild trust in ticketing
Calls for artists, live and ticket sectors to get on board towards consumer rollout
Industry resources and further information now available at newly launched www.maketicketsfair.org

An alliance of live industry organisations and professionals from across Europe is unveiling the ‘Make Tickets Fair!’ initiative — a campaign aimed at educating and empowering live entertainment fans to avoid being ripped off by unscrupulous ticket resellers.

A new industry-facing website has launched, with the goal of getting more agents, promoters, venues and indeed artists, involved ahead of consumer launch. The site provides free resources and advice for event organisers to direct fans to safe, official channels to buy resale tickets. It also offers a clear overview of ticket resale laws country by country. All these resources are available in English and Spanish, with Dutch and German to follow.

Further details will be revealed at Eurosonic on Thursday 19 January, at a panel hosted by ticket resale pressure group FEAT and Dutch venues association VNPF. Speakers include Henk Schuit (Managing Director, Eventim Nederland), Jules de Lattre (Senior Music Agent, United Talent Agency), Sam Shemtob (Director, FEAT) and Silke Lalvani (Head of Public Affairs, Pearle* – Live Performance Europe).

Conceived at ILMC, the campaign has been devised by a cross-industry working group coordinated by FEAT. The group comprises a wide range of individuals and organisations including UTA’s Jules de Lattre and One Fiinix Live’s Jon Ollier, as well as organisations including German live entertainment association BDKV, the European Music Managers Alliance, European Arenas Association, FanFair Alliance, Swiss consumer association FRC, Pearle* – Live Performance Europe, PRODISS, the Sports Rights Owners Coalition and Victim of Viagogo.

With an international consumer roll-out to follow, tomorrow's panel will drive home the need to join together across the sector to educate ticket buyers on safe ticketing and help stem ticket resale abuses – ranging from huge, uncapped prices, to the selling of invalid tickets, and a lack of transparency for ticket buyers.

Jules de Lattre, Senior Music Agent at UTA, said, “It’s vital that this campaign is successful, and that means becoming front-of-mind with agents, managers and promoters when they are planning shows – so safe resale information goes out with all communications, including on ticket pages.”

Mark Lichtenhein, Chairman of the Sports Rights Owners Coalition (SROC), said, “The majority of major sporting events typically experience demand for tickets far exceeding the physical capacity of the venue, leading to illegitimate offers in secondary markets. It is therefore essential that fans are equipped with all the relevant, correct information before making any ticketing purchases”.

Johannes Ulbricht of BDKV said, “FEATs fight against secondary ticketing is appreciated and supported by German Live Entertainment Association BDKV”.

Silke Lalvani, Head of Public Affairs at Pearle* - Live Performance Europe, said, “We are delighted to be part of the campaign Make Tickets Fair! to bring awareness to all audiences about how and where to safely buy their event tickets. It is crucial that the live performance sector as a whole collaborates on stopping illegal ticket resale to make sure that fans have a great experience at live shows and other events.”

Neo Sala, FEAT Director and Founder & CEO of Doctor Music, said, “The current ticket resale market is, frankly, broken and the time for the industry to come together and act is long overdue. As the first Europe-wide campaign of its kind, Make Tickets Fair! has huge potential to help fans and rebuild trust in live music. To achieve this, cross-industry collaboration is essential, and we look forward to getting as many members of the live business on board as possible.”

Artists, promoters and other live industry professionals can learn more and get involved at maketicketsfair.org.

About the Make Tickets Fair! campaign

Make Tickets Fair! is a campaign being created to educate and empower live performance fans to avoid being ripped off by ticket resellers.

It will educate fans on safe ticket resale, helping them buy tickets for the events they love with confidence, and also provide resources and advice to event organisers.

Launching to the public in 2023, the campaign is being devised by a cross-industry working group coordinated by the Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing (FEAT). The group comprises a wide range of organisations including:

About European Arenas Association

The European Arenas Association represents 37 arenas in 20 European countries that operate some of the world’s leading venues, hosting unrivalled programs with outstanding artists, productions, sports and corporate events. The association’s arenas host over 2,900 annual events attracting a total audience of 19 million people

About FEAT

The Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing is a non-profit organisation formed in 2019 to promote better ticket resale practices across Europe. FEAT’s members are leading live event professionals from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, as well as EEA members Norway and Switzerland. They are the promoters for:

Music artists including Adele, Ed Sheeran, Elton John, Björk, Iron Maiden, Florence + the Machine, Rolling Stones, Radiohead and Rammstein
Comedians including Maz Jobrani, Aziz Ansari, Michael McIntyre, Ane Høgsberg, and Dara O’Briain
Festivals including Nova Rock Festival Pitchfork Paris

www.feat-alliance.org

About Pearle* - Live Performance Europe

Created in 1991, Pearle * - Live Performance Europe is the European Federation of Music and Live Performance Organisations. Pearle* represents through its members more than 10,000 managers of theatres, concert venues, theatre production companies, orchestras, operas, ballet and dance companies, festivals, promoters and other professional organisations in the performing arts in Europe. Pearle* is the leading organisation on EU and international regulatory affairs issues affecting daily operations or live performance organisations.

About PRODISS

Founded in 1984 in France, PRODISS is France's top representative union in the private performing arts industry. PRODISS represents 400 members throughout France: producers, distributors, exhibitors and festival organisers, and defends their interests to institutions, ensuring a legal and regulatory framework that is conducive to development. These 4 professions are represented and defended with the same vigour, and the same desire to promote the industry and push boundaries. PRODISS provides practical and essential services, enabling companies to accelerate and boost their competitiveness.

About SROC

The Sports Rights Owners Coalition (“SROC”) brings together over 50 international and national sports bodies and competition organisers in the protection and development of their underlying intellectual property rights. SROC members represent the leading and most popular sports competitions, selling tickets to millions of fans to their respective events every year. More information about us can be found on their website: www.sroc.info