The Times (Ireland}
Fans of Fleetwood Mac who missed out when tickets for their Dublin concert sold out this week were disappointed to find touts advertising them for €740.
The band are taking their European tour to the RDS Arena in June and tickets sold out minutes after they went on sale on Ticketmaster yesterday morning.
Seats in the golden circle went on sale for €129.50, standing tickets were €89.50 and seated tickets ranged from €79.50 to €144, all excluding a service charge. Tickets quickly appeared on Viagogo, a secondhand retailer, for between €197 and €740 each.
Noel Rock, a Fine Gael TD, said that the high prices being charged by touts online underlined the need for the government to act faster on touting legislation. “Ticketless Fleetwood Mac fans have been left bitterly disappointed after touts snapped up hundreds of tickets today for next June’s much anticipated RDS concert,” he said.
“These tickets, predictably, immediately flooded secondary markets for prices up to €700 within hours. Viagogo are the main facilitators of this gouging of fans online, with tickets going for up to €697 a ticket for this concert already.”
“It is once again clear — we need to take action on touting. Real fans have realised the touts just don’t stop. On Thursday it was Westlife, today it’s Fleetwood Mac and Manic Street Preachers. As far as I’m concerned, when it comes to touts everything must go. This legislation needs to be enacted now,” he said.
Tickets for Westlife’s 20-year reunion concert in Croke Park similarly flooded secondary seller websites for up to €600 after selling out on Thursday morning.
Mr Rock accused the government of being slow to act on anti-touting legislation that was approved during the summer.
“Back in July the cabinet approved in principle to bringing forward legislation on touting. It is now October and unfortunately there is still no scheduled date in sight,” he said. “We need to ensure that this action is taken and we need a confirmed timeline as to when this amended legislation will be brought forward.
“Heather Humphreys [the business minister] has done tremendous work bringing the legislation to this stage, but now we need to maintain momentum and get the job done,” Mr Rock added.
The proposed legislation would ban the resale of tickets for more than their face value for sporting and entertainment events in designated venues with a capacity of at least 1,000. It would also prohibit the use of bot software to purchase tickets in excess of the number permitted by event organisers.
In August Seatwave, Ticketmaster’s resale website, announced that it would be shutting down while the cabinet approved legislation to ban legislation.
Viagogo said in a statement: “Viagogo is a marketplace and doesn’t buy or sell tickets. Viagogo provides a platform for third-party sellers to sell tickets to event goers. Viagogo does not set ticket prices, sellers set their own prices, which may be above or below the original face value.“
Artists such as Ed Sheeran and Radiohead have insisted on measures to prevent touts, such as allowing entry only to fans with ID that matches the name on their booking.