- Consumer support for regulation of ticket resales in the UK jumped to 72% by the end of 2024
- O2, a longtime supporter of the FanFair Alliance: “One thing that can truly stop touts in their tracks is legislation. We’re calling for the UK to follow in the footsteps of countries including Ireland and France and ban the resale of concert tickets for significant profits – it’s time to bring in laws to protect fans and live music.”
Brand new research conducted by O2 – which sold over 1.5 million tickets in 2024 through its Priority Tickets platform – and YouGov shows there has been a jump of in support of regulation of the secondary ticketing market amongst concertgoers in the UK.
The increase of 9% – apparent over a period of just five months, between July to December 2024 – means that almost three quarters (72%) of music fans who attended live music events now believe there should be rules in place against the resale of tickets for significant profits. This figure is up from 63% in July 2024.
Last year, O2 and YouGov released research which showed the impact ticket touts are having on gig goers’ pockets, with greedy touts costing music fans an additional £145 million per year on ticket purchases. O2 also revealed that it had blocked more than 50,000 suspected bots from entering its Priority Tickets platform in just a six-week period. The ticketing platform allows members to access early pre-sale tickets to some of the biggest shows in the UK – its most popular shows in 2024 included tours by Dua Lipa, Lana Del Rey, Usher and Billie Eilish.
On the latest research, Gareth Griffiths, Director, Sponsorship and Partnerships at Virgin Media O2, commented: “2024 was another massive year for live entertainment, music fans and unfortunately, ticket touts. We are tired of seeing tickets taken out of fans’ hands in the name of profit and it is clear that fans feel the same. O2 is working tirelessly to try to beat the bots and protect our customers and music fans. One thing that can stop touts in their tracks is legislation. We’re calling for the UK to follow in the footsteps of countries including Ireland and France and ban the resale of concert tickets for significant profits – it’s time to bring in laws to protect fans and live music.”
Adam Webb, Campaign Manager, FanFair Alliance added: “These findings from YouGov and O2 are incredibly timely, with the Government due to launch a consultation on ways to protect UK audiences from predatory online ticket touts and unscrupulous offshore resale platforms. The FanFair campaign has made it clear on how this can be achieved. The UK needs legislation that prohibits ticket resale for profit, and it needs to be properly enforced – while allowing fans to easily resell for the price they originally paid. If we get this right, the results should be transformative, and help ensure hundreds of millions of pounds remain in the back pockets of UK music lovers.”
Other findings from the research include almost half (47%) of music fans who attended live music events agreeing that ticket touts make it difficult to get tickets to shows they want to see (up from 32% in July) and 70% of them agreeing that ticket touts are wrongly profiting from fans (up from 63%).
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
ABOUT THE YOUGOV SURVEY
Figures included are based on a recent survey commissioned by Virgin Media O2 and conducted by YouGov.
The figures from the YouGov survey have been weighted and are representative of all UK music fans adults aged 18+. Total sample size was 2044 adults for July’24 survey and 2005 for Dec’24 survey. Fieldwork for July survey was undertaken between 11th -16th July’24 & December survey between 29th November – 5th December 2024. The survey was carried out online.
Data was weighted according to the dimensions of gender, age and geography on the basis of an ideal weighting from Statistics UK, so that the results are representative of the population in relation to the aforementioned target group.
* £145m figure analysed independently by Virgin Media O2 and cleared by YouGov. The figure was calculated using data from UK Music’s Here, There and Everywhere 2023 report and YouGov survey data.
Read more about previous released research from O2 on the topic of secondary ticketing at the Virgin Media O2 newsroom: Ticket Touts Costing Music Fans an Extra £145m Per Year
ABOUT PRIORITY TICKETS FROM O2
Priority is O2’s way of saying thanks for being an O2 and Virgin Media broadband customer. Members get early access to gig tickets and experiences, plus exclusive rewards from their favourite high street brands. Priority Tickets offers access to thousands of gigs and events across the UK, up to 48 hours before general sale. In 2024, over 1.5 million tickets were sold through the Priority Tickets platform.
ABOUT FANFAIR ALLIANCE
FanFair Alliance is a UK-based campaign against industrial-scale online ticket touting. Supported by managers and teams for artists including Arctic Monkeys, Ed Sheeran, Biffy Clyro, Pixies, Iron Maiden, George Ezra, Keane, PJ Harvey, Niall Horan and many others, FanFair has successfully helped change the regulatory and legislative landscape in the UK, leading to the widespread adoption of consumer-friendly practices for ticket resale.
The post Latest O2 and YouGov Data: Nearly three quarters of concertgoers want to see rules against the resale of tickets for profit appeared first on Virgin Media O2.
Source: O2 Blog
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