[noelrock]

I’ve worked on ticket touting legislation for my own Parliament for two years now. It’s surprisingly complex and naturally has an unsurprisingly monied lobby funding opposition.

I find the parallels here very interesting and the suggestion from the first comment that a lottery could be deployed for all who purchase within the first X minutes. Maybe that’s the way forward for tickets too.

[benj111]

I agree with the parallels. I disagree with the solution.

It seems to me both markets have a producer retailing a product far below the market clearing price. A 3rd party is thus stepping in and claiming that unclaimed value.

It seems to me that the producers hold all the cards needed to put the 3rd parties out of business. They can increase prices, or supply. Why don't they?

I've heard accusations that musicians are getting kick backs from touts, which suggests that the touts are basically scapegoats. The question then becomes why people don't think it's reasonable for these producers to raise prices. That view is kind of understandable for musicians, they are 'artists' not in it for the money, although why their fans would begrudge them more money or why the artists wouldn't want to perform more for their loyal fans I don't know.

In short it's a strange market dynamic, where nobody actually seems to be honest about their motivations.

[Firadeoclus]

Musicians generally want to make money but, like most market participants, they're not short-term income maximisers.

Musicians are concerned with their reputation. They want to tour (though some don't) but not burn out and also need time to work on new material and recording. They want to play the best possible gig. That means sell-out performances with the most devoted fans, not the richest ones. It means venue matched to the type of music.

Venues and promoters are in similar positions. Auctioning tickets to the highest bidder could be short-term profitable but in the long term it's a disaster.

[benj111]

The parent is working on legislation.

If you want that long list of things, and can get it, good for you. Does it then follow you can demand legislation to protect that?

Then there's the question of what a devoted fan is. Surely if they only wanted devoted fans they'd site the concert somewhere out of the way. The South pole perhaps? That would sort the touts.

Edit: And a final point, my experience as a fan would be much improved if I could reliably go out and buy say 4 tickets for me and my friends, any friends because i don't know which will be free, and if only 2 can make it, sell 1 to someone else that would like to go.

[FabHK]

It's great that you're looking into legislation. Touts are annoying. I've lived in Hong Kong for a while, and once lost my iPhone. Getting a new one from Apple was basically impossible, because everything for open sale was snapped up immediately by very long queues of people paid to stand in very long queues and pick up 2 iPhones, which were then slipped over the border to go on the Chinese gray market.

I ended up paying some inflated price at a dodgy computer centre (as the alternative would have been to take out another 2 year phone service subscription).

However, I believe you that regulating this appropriately is complex. I'm not sure, for example, what Apple could have done better (beyond their 2-per-customer-limit, apart from raising prices or magically producing more). Lotteries might be one way (and that's what Apple did later in HK, I believe).

(And, BTW, cool to have a MEP here :-)

[barry-cotter]

Are you going to ban drugs, alcohol and selling sex too? If people sell items at below the market clearing price someone will buy it and sell it at its true value.