Iron Maiden join MP's campaign against ticket touts

MP Sharon Hodgson has gained some heavy metal allies in her bid to tackle ticket touts.

Hodgson, who is the MP for Washington and Sunderland West, has drafted a Private Members' Bill which she hopes will prevent touts from snapping up tickets before genuine fans can purchase them, and then reselling them at an extortionate mark-up.

"The fact of the matter is that a few people are making large amounts of money by exploiting the hard work of people involved in the live entertainment industry and the passion of fans, whilst contributing nothing to either," she wrote on her website.

British heavy metal legends Iron Maiden are the first band to lend their support to Hodgson's campaign.

"Something really has to be done about the plague of secondary ticketing," said Iron Maiden's manager Rod Smallwood. "This is becoming a blight on anything and everything which involves people genuinely wishing to buy tickets at the intended price for popular events, be it music, sport or theatre."

To find out what you can do to help make the Sale of Tickets (Sporting and Cultural Events) Bill law, log on to Sharon Hodgson's website.

Tags: Iron Maiden

Posted by Dan at 12:36PM | January 24, 2011

About time! :)

Posted by YEAHHH! | January 24, 2011 12:58 PM | Reply to this

but then i'll be broke...lmao

Posted by Bruce Dickinson | January 24, 2011 1:37 PM | Reply to this

Its about time, but maybe the venues ought to buy back tickets at the price they were brought for, that can't be used because people are ill or something. They can easily sell them on again even if it is close to the date. That way they could make all secondary selling illegal and people who can't make it won't be out of pocket

Posted by metmum | January 24, 2011 2:01 PM | Reply to this

Will never happen. All you have to do to stop re-sales is just implement a system like a glastonbury or the free rage gig where you have to register a photo which then appears on your ticket. If your photo dont match the you dont get in.
The trouble is most re-sale sites e.g GET ME IN are own by ticket agents such as ticketmaster and they make another 11 quid per ticket re-sold. Why stop it????

Posted by lee | January 24, 2011 3:34 PM | Reply to this

3 things would stop this anyway. 1 Stop promoter selling large blocks of tickets to touts in the first place put it all through channels general public can access. 2 Allow people to cancel tickets for gods sake. 3 go ticketless and allow entry by payment card and photo ID. Sorted.

Posted by Anthony | January 24, 2011 3:35 PM | Reply to this

ABOUT TIME.

This has been a problem for far too long.

Print names on tickets & request I.D. on the door for all shows.

Allow tickets to be returned to the box office & resold for all sold out shows, minus the booking/admin/postage fees.

Allow fan-to-fan ticket exchange on all non-sold out shows. Show full name of ticket seller (person A) on exchange website, when buyer (person B) purchases the ticket, they print out the purchase page & bring it to the show with them. They are then granted permission to use Person A's named tickets under their own name, upon proof of purchase from printed buying page.

Simple.

Posted by hm | January 24, 2011 4:07 PM | Reply to this

...almost forgot to add.

Fan exchange tickets should be FACE VALUE.

To me, Seatwave, Get Me In etc are just as criminal as touting. They are effectively professional touts, except they charge even more money than regular touts.

Posted by hm | January 24, 2011 4:17 PM | Reply to this

They should record a song for this.

Posted by Milk Lizard | January 24, 2011 5:34 PM | Reply to this

How about a universal card system between all promoters, ticket companies etc.

when you buy a ticket you put your card number into the system which then tells the system youve bought a ticket.

go to gig, swipe card at the door

Posted by Mark | January 24, 2011 9:14 PM | Reply to this

Nothing wrong with Ticket touts, ive had to rely on them to get to a few gigs i wanted to go to because when tickets go on sale they go really fast and i dont always have the money at the time. I know they charge over the top which isnt fair but sometimes they come in handy.

Posted by Smelly kid | January 27, 2011 2:57 AM | Reply to this

Posted by Smelly kid | January 27, 2011 2:58 AM | Reply to this

So do shops (only the "specialized" in metal ones actually).
Repricing fundraiser singles, putting a new sticker on it and writing with hand "deleted" on em.
Now in benelux there's just one shop where one can walk in and sniff up their metal identity, but as it is even that last one is in the hands of such a commercial mentality. And people seeing it don't even think further than as to say Maiden is commercial.
Aah where to order some c4 then ay.
Wankers! called a shady ticketagency once, for an arrangement for a show in Paris. The dutchbuisnessman was sitting in monaco, féd up all me phonecredits aswell. Tossers!
Maiden is trying to make a fist, wich is cool, very cool! But even Live Nation is'nt watertight, as it now also seems.

Posted by S.S.S. | June 3, 2011 4:29 PM | Reply to this