Leadership / 08.13.18

Ticketmaster Shutting Down Controversial Resale Sites GET ME IN! and Seatwave

Access Staff

Original article published on Billboard (08/13/18) by Marc Schneider

Ticketmaster announced on Aug. 13 the imminent shutdown of its controversial GET ME IN! and Seatwave websites, to be replaced by a face value-or-less fan-to-fan ticket exchange in the U.K. and Europe. The decision follows a regulatory probe by the British government, with a promise to improve transparency for buyers. "We know that fans are tired of seeing tickets being snapped up just to find them being resold for a profit on secondary websites, so we have taken action," said Ticketmaster U.K.'s Andrew Parsons. "Closing down our secondary sites and creating a ticket exchange on Ticketmaster has always been our long-term plan." Ticketmaster also noted that the new fan-to-fan ticket exchange site will roll out in October in the U.K. and Ireland, with a Europe-wide launch planned for early 2019. Parsons said the exchange will permit fans to sell tickets to each other via their Ticketmaster accounts for face value or less. "This is a welcome move from Ticketmaster and shows that they're following our lead and taking a tough stance on cracking down on unacceptable behavior in the secondary ticket market," stated Digital and Creative Industries Minister Margot James. StubHub also will reportedly make changes to restore consumer confidence, but the secondary sites' removal is unlikely to curb profiteering and price gouging that the platforms are rife with.

Read the full story on the Billboard website.

Tags: Ticketmaster , Reselling , Regulations , StubHub , Secondary Ticketing