[www.safeconcerts.com]

Channel 4 Dispatches programme defeats injunction attempt from Viagogo

Channel 4 claims to reveal hidden practices used by live event promoters and a major ‘fan-to-fan' ticket exchange

Channel 4 Dispatches programme has defeated an injunction in the High Court today (Wednesday 22nd February) and can now reveal an important public interest investigation into how real fans are paying the price for hidden practices used by live event promoters and a major ‘fan-to-fan ticket exchange'.

Dispatches, which will air tomorrow night
(Channel 4 on Thursday 23rd February 2012 at 9PM), went undercover inside one of the UK's biggest ticket reselling websites - Viagogo - and found that major promoters allocate hundreds or even thousands of tickets to be sold through their website at well above the face value.

Tickets for recent gigs and tours by Coldplay, Rihanna, Westlife, Take That, and V Festival have been allocated by the promoters in this way.

The application for an injunction was brought by Viagogo on the grounds of ‘breach of confidence' and it was dismissed on all counts at the High Court today.

A Channel 4 spokesperson says: "We are pleased that we can now broadcast in full a programme of important public interest. It is disappointing that having provided Viagogo with a fair opportunity to respond to the allegations uncovered by our investigation several weeks ago, they chose instead to seek an injunction which would have effectively stopped the broadcast of our programme."

‘The Great Ticket Scandal: Dispatches' - Channel 4 on Thursday 23rd February 2012 at 9pm

[hangout.altsounds.com]

Hi Adrian,

Thanks for the heads-up!

Cheers,

Simon.

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Adrian-L
that major promoters allocate hundreds or even thousands of tickets to be sold through their website at well above the face value.

Not the first time we here about a scam like that.
But thanks for posting, it can never be revealed enough.

-------------------
Keep On Rolling

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SimonN
Hi Adrian,

Thanks for the heads-up!

Cheers,

Simon.

you're welcome.
Should be fascinating if blood-boilingly infuriating, viewing.

What about the high face-value of tickets? Stones concert tickets in the UK used to cost around £20 to £30 during the 90s. Then after the year 2000 or so, tickets for all gigs shot up and now cost £100s. Why did this happen? Never mind the resale scam, what about the face-value scam of the last decade?

Because that's what the market is willing to pay.

If they tour this year, promoted as the alst tour, how much do you think the market will pay? i'd put tix at £250 minimum.

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The GR
Because that's what the market is willing to pay.

If they tour this year, promoted as the alst tour, how much do you think the market will pay? i'd put tix at £250 minimum.

And that would put it in the range North Americans paid in the last tour.

I think we all know that buying tickets is a big rip off. The price advertised is not the price you pay by a long way usually.Buying them at the box office of the venue is the cheapest but not usually practical for most of us.Albert Hall has always been good to buy on line but their fees have risen the last few years.I will be watching it just to shout out at the scumbags who rip us all off.

Take cover everyone....I sense an incoming rant from Paulywaul on his favourite topic!!

[latimesblogs.latimes.com]

a blood-pressure buster of a programme, that's for sure!!

However, i'm not sure we learnt anything new about the borderline-criminality, that goes on in the ticketing industry.

'Industrial-scale ticket harvesting', as it was accurately labelled is clearly a massive problem and now it's been exposed and in the public eye, hopefully we'll get some government legislation pushed through. Sooner rather than later.
Though i won't be holding my breath.

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Manofwealthandtaste
Take cover everyone....I sense an incoming rant from Paulywaul on his favourite topic!!

Well thank you kindly (or should that be "fankyew" kindly to quote that ruffian sir Mick) - a grand introduction that was from you - Monsieur man of immeasurable wealth and exceedingly good taste !

Actually no, no rant as such from me. Merely a "weary sigh" shall we say, because basically, I suspect the program actually did little more than to heighten public awareness of a long established and acknowledged problem that has been plaguing us live music fans and concert goers for sodding years now. I didn't see the program myself, out of the country at the moment, but I'd sure have loved to.

I think Adrian's comment above sums it all up eloquently ....

<<< However, I'm not sure we learnt anything new about the borderline criminality that goes on in the ticketing industry >>>

Because that's exactly what it is, borderline criminality. EVERYONE with anything more than a peanut sized brain knows that there is deliberate siphoning off of entire blocks of seats straight to the re-sellers like Viagogo, Seatwave, Getmein, seats that are never ever made available through the original ticket agency (more often than not Ticketmaster). The depressing element of all this is that it's taken SO BLOODY LONG for a current affairs television program to recognise that it is enough of an injustice to actually get round to devoting some time and some energy to making a program about it and an issue out of it.

So now that they've done so, what next we wonder ? I for one don't know. "Business as usual" I shouldn't be surprised !

And now for a complete change of tack ..... WHEN ARE THOSE LAZY BLOODY ROLLING STONES gonna stop faffing about doing the gardening and the washing up and ROCK OUT for the 50th ? I'm waitin' !!

[ I want to shout, but I can hardly speak ]

The bit of the programme that annoyed me the most was the guy describing how handfuls of siphoned-off tickets were dumped in the Viagogo office waste bin because they remained unsold at the inflated resale price.

At least in the bad old days the tout was standing right there in the venue car park and you had some chance of buying his leftovers cheap at the last minute. Now the scalpers have already made their money by selling part of their allocation at three times their face value, so who cares if tickets go to waste and seats remain empty while fans are left outside the gig?

Snarl!!! Grrrrr!!!

Quote
Green Lady
The bit of the programme that annoyed me the most was the guy describing how handfuls of siphoned-off tickets were dumped in the Viagogo office waste bin because they remained unsold at the inflated resale price.

At least in the bad old days the tout was standing right there in the venue car park and you had some chance of buying his leftovers cheap at the last minute. Now the scalpers have already made their money by selling part of their allocation at three times their face value, so who cares if tickets go to waste and seats remain empty while fans are left outside the gig?

Snarl!!! Grrrrr!!!

<<< The bit of the programme that annoyed me the most was the guy describing how handfuls of siphoned-off tickets were dumped in the Viagogo office waste bin because they remained unsold at the inflated resale price >>>

Had I seen the program, I suspect that's the bit that would've had similar effect on me. That is an absolute disgrace. So some poor sod who REALLY wants to attend the show doesn't do so, and meanwhile, his/her and many other available seats remain empty and the corresponding tickets for those seats end their lives in the Viagogo trash bin. O how f***ing just and wonderful that is !! Makes you sick !!

[ I want to shout, but I can hardly speak ]

Sickening to say the least. I can remember the OUTRAGEOUS ticket prices during the run up to Michael Jackson's 'This is it' residency at the O2. I told myself for those prices they only way I'd be there is if I WAS IN THE BAND getting paid!

The hole VIP ticket pricing was crazy in the first place but to then see the Professional ticket Pirates Butthole Surfing the fans was just incredible. Think about just how fast those shows sold out then make the obvious correlation between these Pirates buying the huge blocks of tickets and the nose bleeding markups.

Oops, just realized there are two threads on this subject. Anyhow, the first time I had an issue like this was during the Licks tour, Circus Krone gig. I sat at my computer same as these fans in this video only to find out they sold out before I had a chance to buy a ticket. Well six months past and I went to Munich anyway to see the other two concerts, no problem there. After talking to several fans most of them encouraged me to stick around because Circus Krone tix would become available, so I did. The day before the gig I was led to where the tix were being held, there was a full shoebox of them. The lady asked me how many do I want!!! Not being an opportunist I said two, one for me and the other for my friend. The only regret I had was not thinking of the other fans outside. I would of loved to got them tix for face value, but I was just too blown away by the whole situation.

Quote
Adrian-L
[www.safeconcerts.com]

Channel 4 Dispatches programme defeats injunction attempt from Viagogo

Channel 4 claims to reveal hidden practices used by live event promoters and a major ‘fan-to-fan' ticket exchange

Channel 4 Dispatches programme has defeated an injunction in the High Court today (Wednesday 22nd February) and can now reveal an important public interest investigation into how real fans are paying the price for hidden practices used by live event promoters and a major ‘fan-to-fan ticket exchange'.

Dispatches, which will air tomorrow night
(Channel 4 on Thursday 23rd February 2012 at 9PM), went undercover inside one of the UK's biggest ticket reselling websites - Viagogo - and found that major promoters allocate hundreds or even thousands of tickets to be sold through their website at well above the face value.

Tickets for recent gigs and tours by Coldplay, Rihanna, Westlife, Take That, and V Festival have been allocated by the promoters in this way.

The application for an injunction was brought by Viagogo on the grounds of ‘breach of confidence' and it was dismissed on all counts at the High Court today.

A Channel 4 spokesperson says: "We are pleased that we can now broadcast in full a programme of important public interest. It is disappointing that having provided Viagogo with a fair opportunity to respond to the allegations uncovered by our investigation several weeks ago, they chose instead to seek an injunction which would have effectively stopped the broadcast of our programme."

‘The Great Ticket Scandal: Dispatches' - Channel 4 on Thursday 23rd February 2012 at 9pm

Like how did I miss this... thanks for flagging this up Adrian. Superb documentary!!

Cheers,
SonicD

Quote
SonicDreamer

Quote
Adrian-L
[www.safeconcerts.com]

Channel 4 Dispatches programme defeats injunction attempt from Viagogo

Channel 4 claims to reveal hidden practices used by live event promoters and a major ‘fan-to-fan' ticket exchange

Channel 4 Dispatches programme has defeated an injunction in the High Court today (Wednesday 22nd February) and can now reveal an important public interest investigation into how real fans are paying the price for hidden practices used by live event promoters and a major ‘fan-to-fan ticket exchange'.

Dispatches, which will air tomorrow night
(Channel 4 on Thursday 23rd February 2012 at 9PM), went undercover inside one of the UK's biggest ticket reselling websites - Viagogo - and found that major promoters allocate hundreds or even thousands of tickets to be sold through their website at well above the face value.

Tickets for recent gigs and tours by Coldplay, Rihanna, Westlife, Take That, and V Festival have been allocated by the promoters in this way.

The application for an injunction was brought by Viagogo on the grounds of ‘breach of confidence' and it was dismissed on all counts at the High Court today.

A Channel 4 spokesperson says: "We are pleased that we can now broadcast in full a programme of important public interest. It is disappointing that having provided Viagogo with a fair opportunity to respond to the allegations uncovered by our investigation several weeks ago, they chose instead to seek an injunction which would have effectively stopped the broadcast of our programme."

‘The Great Ticket Scandal: Dispatches' - Channel 4 on Thursday 23rd February 2012 at 9pm

Like how did I miss this... thanks for flagging this up Adrian. Superb documentary!!

Cheers,
SonicD

Superb it was SD for sure, but don't tell us that it actually brought to your attention things that by and large you didn't already know, or hadn't pretty much figured out for yourself ?

My only hope is that the reverberations are sufficient to snap some people out of their state of total f***ing complacency and at least motivate them to put some heads together to try and come up with a way of ridding the world of this menace.

[ I want to shout, but I can hardly speak ]