campaign against the secondary ticket market

We say no to the ticket black market

Please do not buy tickets on the internet via ticket sales platforms of secondary ticket markets. These tickets are often sold at a higher price or are fake. In such a case the access to the concert will be denied. When purchasing the ticket, please check if it’s the regular price. Please buy tickets only from our ticketing partners.

We support the campaign launched by the German Federal Association of the Event Industry (BDV) against the secondary ticket market and we say NO to overcharged ticket prices through the ticket black market.

Press release of the German Federal Association of the Event Industry (BDV)

Hamburg, 17 August 2018 – Through to the “NO to the ticket black market” campaign launched by the Federal Association of the Event Industry (BDV), association members will keep event-goers informed on the risks of purchasing tickets on the secondary market. The association has developed a logo for the campaign, which will be featured on tickets, posters, and artists’ and event promoters’ websites from now on:

The Federal Association of the Event Industry (BDV) is providing the logo publicly to download under the link below, so that the campaign can be widely utilised by nonmembers and ticket platforms as well, in order to raise public awareness of the problems and disadvantages of buying tickets on the secondary market.

https://bdv-web.com/ticketzweitmarkt/

The campaign was triggered by the fact that significant allotments of tickets, especially for large concerts, football games, and other major events, are increasingly being bought up by secondary resellers, who then offer them for resale on eBay or other specialised secondary market platforms, such as Stubhub, Ticketbande, and Viagogo at inflated prices – mark-ups of 250% and more are not uncommon. The harm to event-goers, who usually assume that they are buying the tickets at the original price, is two-fold: they not only pay excessive ticket prices, but in many cases receive worse seats than offered or no ticket at all, despite paying. According to the BDV legal advisor, Dr. Johannes Ulbricht: “We have been combating this spreading cancer in the event industry for a number of years. Since resellers usually stay anonymous online or are based abroad, it’s hard to hold them accountable”.

The event promoters in the BDV complain that reselling tickets has become a profitable business model to the disadvantage of event-goers, artists, and their promoters. The secondary ticket market means that artists and promoters lose control over pricing for their events and the maximum price they can expect audience members to pay. Numerous artists and promoters are therefore calling for the secondary ticket market to be regulated by law, as it already is in the UK, Belgium, Italy, and other countries. On behalf of its members, the
BDV is campaigning for equivalent regulation to be introduced in Germany as well, with the aim of banning mark-ups of more than 25% on tickets for sale. In light of this, the chairman of the BDV, Prof. Jens Michow, welcomes Ticketmaster’s recently announced decision to close the resale platforms Seatwave and Getmein!: “Ticketmaster’s decision is far-sighted. It is a decision in favour of the public and the artists, and thus a decision in favour of quality and sustainability in the event industry. However, since e-commerce platforms’ exemption from liability is unfortunately still exploited to turn a blind eye to illegal business activities and thus generate considerable profit, there is still a need for legislative action. Not only Viagogo, but also eBay and other platforms ignore it when we point out illegal tickets for sale, rather than blocking them. In the case of Viagogo, we are currently preparing a claim for damages”.