Australian music industry legend Michael Gudinski has hit out at ticket scalpers and the resale websites that are now facilitating their unscrupulous practices, which he says he hates.
“We hate it … we’re against it. Some of the prices I’ve seen are extreme, and it doesn’t go to the artists or the promoters. It’s a great frustration and I think the ACCC should look at it,” he told the Herald Sun.
Gudinski’s not the only one who’s calling on the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to review the ticket resale industry, which regularly offers tickets to sold-out shows at exorbitant prices.
As Tone Deaf previously reported, often scalpers put up posts on resale websites before tickets even go on sale, as was the case with The Cure’s Splendour In The Grass sideshows earlier this year.
Tickets on these sites often go for up to twice their original price or even more, leading many, including bands like Violent Soho and the promoters of Splendour to hit out at scalpers and the websites.
Cameron Hoy, managing director of Ticketek, told the Herald Sun that fans are being “misled” when they buy tickets on resale websites at inflated prices.
“Often, tickets sold on resale platforms at inflated prices are, in fact, still readily available at the real face-value price from official agencies,” he said.
“Resale platforms have created an effective and anonymous channel to enable scalpers to gouge consumers on an industrial scale.”
