Jonathan Brown, CEO at STAR (Society Of Ticket Agents and Retailers), has called for a resale revamp in the live music sector, outlining the need for “good resale” and stating that “customers shouldn’t be left with tickets that they can’t return”, in a conversation with Music Week.
In 2016, STAR members voted in favour of developing a Code Of Practice for secondary ticketing sites, with the intention of emphasising that, despite controversy around secondary ticketing, reputable online marketplaces were distinct from unscrupulous websites.
The code for resale sites is currently being developed before being presented to STAR members for consideration. Should the code be approved and adopted by members, resale marketplaces that can meet the demands of the code will then be able to apply for membership.
“I think what everyone recognises is that there needs to be good resale,” Brown told Music Week. “Customers shouldn’t be left with tickets that they can’t return, they can’t exchange and they can’t resell, otherwise they’re locked into something which they’re often asked to buy a long way in advance of the event that they then can’t use.”
“As long as there is the legal resale of tickets, then the industry needs to own and manage that itself,” Brown added. “A lot of the answers about whether you want your tickets to be resold or what not, that will come back down to the event owners and their own ticketing policies and how they put those into practice.”
Brown also highlighted the importance of the Waterson Report in potentially shaping the secondary ticketing landscape.
“The Waterson Review has given the industry a huge opportunity and also put out some challenges both to the industry and to the government to some extent as well,” he said.
“There’s a lot of talk around Bots at the moment – how can that be addressed and is existing legislation sufficient? I haven’t got the answers, but I think it’s really good and important that those things are now being discussed.”
You can read our full interview with Brown here and in the latest issue of Music Week, out now.
