On 20th September, we hosted a panel at Reeperbahn Festival on the topic of ‘Unpacking the EU’s First Secondary Ticketing Legislation.’ It explored the ticketing bot ban included in the New Deal for Consumers and discussed how effective it will be, as well as exploring methods of consumer education (for background info on the new legislation, read the full story here).
Our Campaign Lead, Katie O’Leary, spoke on the panel on behalf of FEAT, with Sebastian Ott, Lawyer / Partner at Lichte Rechtsanwälte, Reinher Karl, Lawyer at Beiler Karl Platzbecker & Partner, alongside Dr. Johannes Ulbricht, Lawyer / Legal Adviser to BDKV.
Katie began by explaining that an event ticket is a license rather than a product, and as such it’s governed by the terms and conditions of the original sale, just like purchasing an airline ticket. She also advised on how event organisers can protect themselves from touting, including clear communications with fans regarding terms and conditions and encouraging primary ticket sellers to check their sales data.
She also discussed commercial solutions to the issues of the secondary market. These included the rise of fan-to-fan and face-value resale platforms, as well as other options for primary ticket sellers, such as dynamic pricing.
Overall, the panel was broadly positive on the potential impact of the new EU legislation, but emphasised that bots — the focus of these new laws — are far from the only method of ticket touting, and there is still a long way to go both legislatively and commercially in creating a fair market for both fans and industry.
You can read Katie’s comments in more detail here.