Ticket scalping seems to be part of the live music package nowadays. Whenever there is a gig to be had, there are profits to be made.
Fans of newly reformed post-hardcore outfit At The Drive-In found this out the hard way when tickets to their sold out Splendour In The Grass sideshow appeared on Ticketmaster at over $450, being 4x the original cost. I myself confess to paying double for a ticket to see The Paper Kites last year in Sydney, and the feeling of genuine embarrassment at being so blatantly ripped off was a long overdue wake up call.
Thankfully, Brighton duo Royal Blood have had enough.
The UK lads have called on fans to sign a petition that calls for tougher sanctions on people found to be re-selling tickets at prices that exceed the face value.
In a statement posted across their Facebook, the duo note that, “The ecstatic feeling of announcing and putting a tour on-sale is short-lived when we see that these tickets are marked up at a staggering increase and listed on Secondary Ticket websites.”
“We do not want to deny fans the opportunity to resell a ticket if they cannot attend a show, but we do want to curb the escalating problem of ticketing touting and ticket fraud,” they said, asking fans to sign this petition.
In order for the petition to be considered for debate by the British parliament, 100,000 signatures must be obtained by citizens.
At the time of writing, the petition has 35,362 signatures.
Here’s hoping this issue sticks around in the ears of the authority for a long, looooong time.
IMAGE: breakingrock.net