Arctic Monkeys’ Manager Says Resellers Trying to Collude on Increasing Ticket Prices
Maybe some of us have suspected it, to some extent, but the manager of the Arctic Monkeys is saying it’s true: Ticket resellers are trying to work with artists to increase the cost of concert tickets.
Ian McAndrew, CEO of Wildlife Entertainment and manager of Arctic Monkeys, Last Shadows Puppets and Royal Blood, told a UK Parliamentary committee Tuesday that he has “often been approached by one of the big four resale sites asking to enter into an arrangement where I give them inventory in return for participation and resale profits,” according to Newsweek.
McAndrew is one of several UK artists and managers involved in the FanFair Alliance, an organization working to combat price gouging from ticket resellers and other unethical practices. They’ve been calling on Parliament this year to enact legislation to ensure all ticket transactions are fair, legal and legitimate.
Reselling concert tickets, as well as tickets to other types of entertainment, is a £1 billion-per-year industry in the UK.
When asked, during a hearing Tuesday, whether there was “collusion” between the music industry and ticket resellers, McAndrew said “That is a proposal I’ve refused on a number of occasions. I can understand how that’d be a temptation to some who want to maximize profits for a show.”
Another speaker, Annabella Coldrick, chief executive of the Music Managers Forum, reiterated that some artists have succumbed to the pressure of ticket resellers.
“I think there has been amongst a small section of players in the industry an ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ attitude,” she said.
It’s an unethical approach and one which the FanFair Alliance remains committed to fighting. Coldrick called on the organization’s members to “work collectively against industrial ticket-touting and take measures to try and stop this from happening.”
She warned against making blanket statements or generalizations, however.
“Just because something’s happened in the past doesn’t mean we condone it, and it doesn’t mean it applies to all managers,” Coldrick said.
Read the rest here.
