FAC welcomes government plans to ban ticket touting & protect fans.
The FAC welcomes the government’s announcement that they plan to make it illegal to resell tickets above their original price. This landmark move will protect fans from exploitative pricing, improve access to live events, and restore fairness to the UK’s ticketing system.
Industrial-scale ticket touting has long been a serious problem. Bots and bulk-buying operations allow touts to snap up tickets intended for genuine fans, only to resell them at inflated prices on secondary platforms. This has led to widespread frustration, inflated ticket costs, and has drained hundreds of millions of pounds from the live music sector each year.
The new rules will make it illegal for tickets to be resold above face value (including unavoidable fees), cap service charges on resale platforms, require platforms to enforce compliance, and restrict individuals from reselling more tickets than they originally purchased. Government analysis suggests these measures could save fans around £112 million annually, with average resale prices dropping by £37 per ticket.
David Martin, CEO of the Featured Artists Coalition:
“Online ticket touting needlessly costs UK music fans hundreds of millions of pounds each year. For far too long, this money has literally been extracted from the UK's live music sector, and deposited into the pockets of law-breaking touts and the offshore resale platforms they operate from. It's why today's announcement is so significant, and why it is so strongly supported by the Featured Artists Coalition. We believe that a price cap is the only way to curb the excesses and exploitation of the secondary ticketing market. It must be introduced without delay.”
Gus Unger-Hamliton, Alt-J, & FAC Director:
"Last week, our band joined dozens of artists and music organisations urging the Prime Minister to clamp down on ticket touting through the introduction of a cap on ticket resale prices. Although we're pleased the Government has listened to this collective call, it is now imperative that they put these measures into place as quickly as possible."
Adam Webb, Campaign Manager, FanFair Alliance:
“This is fantastic news for music fans. It's taken years of FanFair campaigning to get to this point, but having listened to the concerns of artists, campaigners and the wider music sector, the Government now has a clear and pragmatic plan in place to tackle the scourge of exploitative online ticket touting.
However, there is an urgency to deliver. Every day that passes before new legislation comes into effect, will see more fans ripped off by touts. For that reason alone, it is vital a cap on ticket resale prices is introduced and enforced at the earliest possible opportunity.”
The FAC is proud to stand alongside artists, managers, campaigners, and industry groups who have long advocated for this change. Today’s announcement represents a critical step toward a ticketing market that serves genuine fans rather than opportunistic resellers. We now urge the government to implement these measures swiftly and robustly, ensuring that live music remains accessible, fair, and enjoyable for all.