Let’s put a stop to these ticket resale companies

There was derision in some of the national media last week after Cardiff MP Kevin Brennan brought up the fact that tickets for concerts starring pop star Taylor Swift were being resold for up to £3,500 each, within hours of first being available online.

Some thought this sort of debate was not the business of serious parliament, but, after watching on as two friends tried desperately to buy tickets, I was delighted to hear that the matter is now likely to be debated before the summer recess.

Both women, who are also work colleagues, were waiting in online queues nearly all day (while working hard, I must add!). Their friends and hundreds of thousands of others all over Europe were doing the same.

Lucy and Rebekah weren’t even picky which gig they attended, which country it was in or if they were sitting or standing. They just wanted to see their favourite artist. And, I’m delighted to say, they did eventually get their tickets.

Next day though, tickets were easily accessible… if you were prepared to pay a small fortune. Yes, £80 and £90 entrance fees were now being sold on specialist ‘re-sale’ sites for thousands of pounds. By companies who had employed people to scoop up hundreds of tickets and were now selling them on for massive profits.

You can’t blame the artist. Mega popularity brings huge demand and there’s only so many venues and a limit of how many people can fit into them. But something could, and should be done about these resales

My colleagues and many others work hard for their money and we all deserve the chance to have fun in our free time and pay for the things we want to do. The practice of companies mopping up tickets and selling them at exploitive prices should not be allowed.

Some music festivals - I believe Glastonbury is one - now ask for photo id and the picture is printed on the ticket to ensure the person who bought it is the person who attends the concert. Tickets can be sold back if circumstances mean the buyer cannot attend, and the ticket is then re-sold. If this became law at all venues of a certain capacity, re-selling companies would quickly disappear.

As a footnote, I ‘m more of an aging punk than a Swiftie and, the night after the office ticket drama, I purchased two tickets to see the UK Subs at Norwich Waterfront in September. They cost just £22 each and I completed the online purchase within five minutes.