Original story published on Pollstar (06/21/18) by Gideon Gottfried
FanFair Alliance's Google search of a random selection of 100 live music events discovered that StubHub topped search results in 41 instances and was in the top two results in 58 cases. In response to criticism that fans pay higher than face value for tickets offered on sites that top Google searches, a StubHub spokesperson said, "Approximately 40 percent of ticket transactions on StubHub's U.K. site sell below face value, allowing fans who can't make it to an event to pass them on to someone who can. Those with a vested interest in controlling ticketing and fan access omit this fact as they seek to diminish the work that StubHub does on behalf of fans around the world to provide access to the events and experiences they love." Moreover, the spokesperson noted fans comprise 99 percent of sellers on StubHub, "and our site serves as a marketplace for them to transfer their tickets and recoup losses since primary ticket sellers do not offer refunds. We are supportive of more transparency and are actively engaged with Members of Parliament to advocate for fans and their freedom of choice when it comes to tickets." Both ticket exchange operators and brokers claim they provide for fans ill-served by the primary market, which is beset by in-transparency. They argue that the U.K. secondary ticketing debate imposes numerous rules for the secondary market while letting primary sites go unregulated.
Read the full story on the Pollstar website.