FEAT Publishes Guide To Prevent Ticket Touting Across Europe

18 January 2021 - Press release

Download the guide for free


The Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing (FEAT) — the organisation helping rebuild the secondary ticketing market across Europe — has today published a guide for agents and promoters to stop scalping.

Launched by Eurosonic's Friday keynoter, MCT-Agentur's Scumeck Sabottka, "Stop Touting: A Guide to Personalised Tickets in Europe" includes a step-by-step on how to implement a tout-proof personalised tickets system. It shows how ticket personalisation can be done successfully and straightforwardly, without risking long entry queues or putting your reputation as an agent or promoter on the line. 

The guide also surveys the landscape across Europe, including:

• The size of the issue in various European countries
• Specific rules and regulations to be aware of in each territory
• Suggested ticketing platforms that can be used to curb touting.

Download the guide for free from Monday here: http://bit.ly/FEATAntiToutGuide 

As live shows resume, it is important that the industry sets the foundations for a full recovery, and solving the touting problem is intrinsic to this.

Worth an estimated €2.7bn in 2019, the secondary ticketing market was valued at €1.66bn in 2020 for Europe in spite of the pandemic, and is predicted to grow to €2.29bn by 2023 (Intellectual Research Partners). These billions, taken from fans, prevent them attending other concerts or buying merchandise or refreshments. 

While the EU reviews its digital policy and the lack of fairness in the market, we cannot rely on regulators alone to solve the problem. The industry must come together to find workable solutions to tackle touting and establish a stronger, healthier live business. This guide aims to become a part of this.

Said Scumeck Sabottka, CEO, MCT-Agentur and FEAT Director: "This guide uses our experience of ticket personalisation, gleaned from multiple tours and arena shows, to show it can be done straightforwardly and successfully.  

"My hope is that the live business will use this pandemic-induced standstill to improve the way we sell tickets, and protect artists, fans and our own businesses from these ticket touting vampires". 

Added Nicole Jacobsen, Managing Director and Co-Owner of tickets.de "Personalised ticketing is all about protecting fans from scalpers. I really hope this guide can begin to give the live sector the confidence it needs to make personalised ticketing part of its practice."

FEAT Director Sam Shemtob commented: "Navigating the various markets across Europe, with different ticket laws in different states, can be difficult. With this guide, we hope to make things a little easier for artists, managers, agents and promoters who want to do the right thing."

FEAT would like to thank all who contributed to this project, including Pearle* — Live Performance Europe and Managing Director and Co-Owner of tickets.de Nicole Jacobsen.
An industry workshop on the guide also took place at the live industry conference Eurosonic's Friday programme.