Touting

[Dropkick Murphy]

I posted a massive rant last year with regard to touting and the fact that Festival Republic are doing nothing to stop the touts. They could employ the Glasto ID system, but they don't. To make it worse they make more money by making Viagogo their 'official ticket resale' source - basically touting the tickets they have already made money on.

Anyway, come the end of the month, the festival will be sold out and there'll be thousands of tickets at inflated prices available all over the internet.

Now I know there's a list of websites on the Reading/Leeds websites advising not to buy tickets from certain websites, and i know a lot of these websites don't actually have tickets to sell. However, I know for a fact there are a number of websites selling genuine tickets for inflated prices, as I know people who have bought from them. How the hell do they get hold of these tickets? These are not re-sale sites like eBay or Viagogo, they are actualy companies who have hoards of tickets...

Anyway, Festival Republic need to introduce the Glasto ID system, but they won't. Why should they? They are making an absolute mint.

[Lithium05]

I went on a similar rant recently.

I don't see why, in this day and age, sites like ticketmaster and seetickets can't employ some sort of registration scheme similar to Glasto's. Been think about this alot:

The way it could work would be you give everyone the oppertunity to register an account with a photo than is used for Festivals and other big events. The photo can get printed on the tickets and each account could have a code. If you want to buy multiple tickets your friends can send you their codes and you can put them into your order and their photos are printed on their tickets. It wouldn't have to be for every gig - smaller gigs could still be done the old way, but with the massively popular events that are bound to sell out they could eliminate the touting that costs so many people tickets.

But they won't. Because they don't give a f*ck who buys the tickets as long as someone does.

[Dirty Boots]

It would be interesting to see if these inflated price websites that you speak of are given an allocation of tickets, or somehow get hundreds/thousands themselves.

I think from next year the ID system should definitely be employed. I remember one point last year, a couple of days after the festival there were more than 3,000 items matching the search reading tickets. There must be at least, 15,000 tickets that end up on ebay being sold for crazy prices.

Honestly though, I can't see them doing anything.

[Dropkick Murphy]

They won't do anything. They are making an absoulte fortune and unless they are forced to change, they won't.

Edited March 16, 2010 by Dropkick Murphy

[Dirty Boots]

Glastonbury weren't forced to change were they?

Mind you, the management of the festival actually pride themselves around the way it is run.

[Dropkick Murphy]

Glastonbury chiefs obviously have decent moral fibre. It always has been a 'hippy' festival. Leeds, Reading, V, T In the Park etc. are just massive commercial machines who are not interested in the morality of their methods as long as they get a massive pay day when the tickets are released.

Edited March 16, 2010 by Dropkick Murphy

[Dirty Boots]

I suppose that's the best way to summarise them.

[Lithium05]

I think the only way what I said would come about, would be if the Artists made a point of protesting touting.

The way the RATM free tickets worked was really good, a similar thing should be employed for all tickets.

[Dropkick Murphy]

I raised the point on the official forums in the hope it may filter through. One of the moderators claims they chiefs know how everyone feels about the situation and was hoping it would change this year. However, Festival Republic are again set to partner Viagogo.

[kev1664]

I'm all for some sort of system to stop touting, and just about all of the above I agree with.

My only concern would be when people genuinely can't make it to a gig or festival for one reason or another they will automatically lose thier £200 or so that they paid for their ticket. This prevents a person who wanted to go from going and also wastes £200 pound for the person when that ticket could have easily been sold via word of mouth etc for the face value.

I think there would be a lot of logistical problems with tickets and stuff if all had a photo printed on them, maybe a better way to do this would be to give everyticket a barcode(or number) and when you come to get into the festival that barcode is scanned, bringing up a phot of the person dedicated to that ticket. Doing this means that you could sell your ticket to someone you know then rgister a different photo to that number officially by talking to both parties. I know there would still be a chance of over inflated ticket prices, but it might actually put the touts off.

[Dirty Boots]

No, they simply get a refund on their ticket and then their ticket goes to somebody (first come first serve) who registered but did not get one in the first place ...

Possibly once a month, there could be a resale for registered users who did not get a ticket.

Edited March 16, 2010 by Dirty Boots

[kev1664]

No, they simply get a refund on their ticket and then their ticket goes to somebody (first come first serve) who registered but did not get one in the first place ...

Possibly once a month, there could be a resale for registered users who did not get a ticket.

[rockinthecasbah]

As long as they offered a decent re-sale option, along the lines mentioned of the one mentioned above, for people who genuinally can't go, of course they should introduce it.

No chance they will though.

[Lithium05]

I'm thinking more about one friend out of 10 drops out and another wants to take their place really.

[Dropkick Murphy]

What do Glastonbury do?

To be honest, I don't think he festival will sell out for months if touting was eradicated. I guess Festival Republic feel the same too.

[Spengs Muck]

What do Glastonbury do?

To be honest, I don't think he festival will sell out for months if touting was eradicated. I guess Festival Republic feel the same too.

[Dropkick Murphy]

I know that. I mean in the event of a person receiving their ticket and then decides not to go at the last minute?

Edited March 16, 2010 by Dropkick Murphy

[stylishkids]

I know that. I mean in the event of a person receiving their ticket and then decides not to go at the last minute?

Edited March 16, 2010 by stylishkids

[eFestivals]

I went on a similar rant recently.

I don't see why, in this day and age, sites like ticketmaster and seetickets can't employ some sort of registration scheme similar to Glasto's. Been think about this alot:

The way it could work would be you give everyone the oppertunity to register an account with a photo than is used for Festivals and other big events. The photo can get printed on the tickets and each account could have a code. If you want to buy multiple tickets your friends can send you their codes and you can put them into your order and their photos are printed on their tickets. It wouldn't have to be for every gig - smaller gigs could still be done the old way, but with the massively popular events that are bound to sell out they could eliminate the touting that costs so many people tickets.

But they won't. Because they don't give a f*ck who buys the tickets as long as someone does.

It's wrong to put the onus for this on the ticket agents - they could introduce a whole range of measures, but without the promoters making complying with those measures a condition of entry, they don't mean diddly squat.

This is an issue to be addressed by the promoters, and no one else. Without the promoters support, nothing can work.

It's quite possible that FR are supplying the likes of Viagogo with their own batch of not-sold-elsewhere tickets - and which they'd get to make a hugely greater profit over. If they were exposed as doing this, their name would be shit in the music industry, bands wouldn't play for them, and the festival would fall apart.

Who knows - it's possible they're doing this, that word has already got out with bands, and that bands are now refusing to play for them because of it.

(I'll make clear: - I have heard NOTHING along these lines)

It might be the case that just their relationship with Viagogo has caused this effect already.

(I'll make clear: - I have heard NOTHING along these lines)

Anyway, as I say above, without the promoters support, nothing can work. As Lithium says, they don't do it because they care about the tickets selling, and not about their customers.

[Dropkick Murphy]

I'm sure it was alleged The King Blues refused to play last year due to some 'disagreement'. The King Blues are the type of band to refuse to play if they found out about Festival Republic's involvement with Viagogo...

Edited March 16, 2010 by Dropkick Murphy

[yayrickwaller]

Melvin Benn organises a lot of Glastonbury as well as Reading and Leeds so i'm sure if he really wanted a photo ticketing system then R&L would have implemented it by now.

[purplehaze81]

I always buy 2 tickets anyway, as I'm never quite sure who I'm going to be going with. If they introduced a registration system I'd probably end up having to go on my own.

[Dropkick Murphy]

This makes me laugh. Viagogo are official partners again:

"Beware of touts. If you are unlucky getting tickets, try our official fan-to-fan ticket resale partner Viagogo. Find tickets on viagogo here"

Beware of touts?! Ha.

[OGJBOT]

I'm sure it was alleged The King Blues refused to play last year due to some 'disagreement'. The King Blues are the type of band to refuse to play if they found out about Festival Republic's involvement with Viagogo...

[Jailbreak]

Out of interest, has anyone ever tried selling through viagogo before? Just wander what would happen if the tickets werent posted by seetickets in time for them to be sent onto the buyer? Dw I wouldnt tout tickets, id use scarletmist if I had spare tickets.