What in the World

Would price caps on reselling tickets stop touts?


Listen Later

These days, buying concert tickets is a huge expense. If fans miss out, they can often find tickets on resale sites at hugely inflated prices. Sometimes people resell their tickets because they can’t go but there are also lots of “professional resellers” or ticket touts playing the system and making loads of profit. They buy tickets in bulk from the original seller platform, then mark them up to fans.

We hear from a Taylor Swift super fan, who has spent hundreds on resale tickets.

Now, a group of musicians including Dua Lipa, Coldplay, Sam Fender and Radiohead have sent a letter to the UK government, asking politicians to introduce a price cap on resale tickets to "stop touts from fleecing fans”. Ireland has already introduced a law to stop people selling tickets for more than their original price. Gary Devitt, who co-founded a platform in Ireland for fan-to-fan ticket resales called Toutless, gives us his view on what effect the law has had.

In this episode we hear some stories about buying resale tickets, and ask whether price caps can actually stop the touts. The BBC’s music correspondent Mark Savage also explains how ticket touts operate, and what artists could do themselves to reduce dodgy reselling.

Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld

WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6
Presenter: Hannah Gelbart
Producers: Julia Ross-Roy, Imogen James and Maria Clara Montoya
Editor: Verity Wilde

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

What in the WorldBy BBC World Service

  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2

4.2

15 ratings


More shows like What in the World

View all
TED Talks Daily by TED

TED Talks Daily

11,034 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,594 Listeners

Business Daily by BBC World Service

Business Daily

524 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,799 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,750 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,043 Listeners

Learning English Vocabulary by BBC Radio

Learning English Vocabulary

515 Listeners

Learning English Stories by BBC Radio

Learning English Stories

382 Listeners

The Conversation by BBC World Service

The Conversation

71 Listeners

Learning English Grammar by BBC Radio

Learning English Grammar

319 Listeners

Learning English from the News by BBC Radio

Learning English from the News

253 Listeners

The Global Story by BBC World Service

The Global Story

269 Listeners

Learning English For Work by BBC News

Learning English For Work

46 Listeners

The Explanation by BBC World Service

The Explanation

25 Listeners

Learning Easy English by BBC

Learning Easy English

101 Listeners