Fans Call for Fair and Transparent Ticket Practices

Fans Call for Fair and Transparent Ticket Practices

Fan Freedom Project Research Shows Consumers Want Control, Ownership and Transferability

WASHINGTON, July 14, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new poll reveals widespread confusion among music and sports fans around live-event ticketing practices, such as restrictive paperless ticketing, and finds that most consumers believe that ticket transactions should be more transparent.

The poll, released today by the Fan Freedom Project (http://fanfreedom.org), found that two-thirds of ticket users (68 percent) say artists, venues and event promoters should be required to disclose the total number of event tickets available to the general public for purchase, and those set aside for private sales (including to sponsors, credit card VIPs, and friends of the promoter, performer or team).

Of the 1,000 ticket users surveyed across the nation, 72 percent of respondents said they disapprove of original ticket issuers such as Ticketmaster and artists, teams and venues secretly selling tickets through resale markets for higher than the face value. Katy Perry was the subject of intense media coverage recently for including a provision in her tour contract that allows her to profit from selling her own concert tickets on resale markets -- as many tickets as she wants, at whatever price she wants.

"Fans feel like the ticketing industry keeps them in the dark," said Jon Potter, the organization's president, "And they're right. Every week we see fans try to buy tickets during the public onsale, only to have events sell out in 30 seconds. What fans don't realize is that hardly any tickets were available in the first place. Original ticket issuers like Ticketmaster hide behind this opaque wall, and meanwhile tickets are going out the backdoor to be sold to those same fans for double and triple the price. The Fan Freedom Project is shedding light on these ticketing practices to ensure fairness, transparency and meaningful consumer protections. We're fighting to make sure all fans have reasonable opportunities to see the bands and teams they love."

Respondents were also asked specifically about paperless ticketing, a growing practice that ties tickets directly to a purchaser's credit card, prohibiting or limiting fans from reselling tickets or sharing them as gifts. In fact, only 29 percent of respondents could correctly describe this practice, with many confusing paperless tickets with electronic, mobile phone or barcode tickets.

Fans categorized restrictions on transferring tickets as a major drawback when making purchasing decisions. According to the survey, less than one in five said paperless tickets were "very good" for consumers. Nearly 60 percent of respondents said they would not purchase paperless tickets if they could not give them away or resell them, and half said they simply oppose paperless ticketing altogether.

"The sharply restrictive nature of paperless tickets is still vastly unknown to consumers," Potter said. "We are trying to educate fans on the realities of this ticketing scheme."

The largest majorities in the survey involved attitudes on fans' rights. For example, 90 percent of respondents said they "should have the right to resell or give away tickets that I purchase to anyone I choose." In addition, 89 percent said that once they have bought a ticket, it becomes their personal property, and they should have complete control over what they do with it.

The poll indicated that fans enjoy the benefits of a competitive resale ticket market, saying they associate it with "options," "choice" and "affordability." Two-thirds of respondents (67 percent) said that fans who use the resale market should determine the prices at which tickets are resold, allowing them flexibility to resell for higher or lower than face value.

Potter will present the survey findings in Las Vegas at the Ticket Summit in Las Vegas on Friday, July 15, and the World Ticket Conference on Saturday, July 16. Survey results can be found here.

Methodology

Penn Schoen Berland conducted the online survey of 1,000 General Ticket Users in the United States June 27 - 29, 2011. "General Ticket Users" are defined as having used the Internet to purchase or sell a ticket to an event within the past 12 months. Margin of Error at the 90 percent confidence level for the full sample is +/- 2.5 percent.

About The Fan Freedom Project

Launched in February 2011, FFP was founded by consumer advocate Jon Potter, who has spent his career working to defend innovators such as Pandora, iTunes, Netflix and YouTube from industry incumbents.

The Fan Freedom Project is supported by more than 30,000 live event fans, and is backed by a growing coalition, including the American Antitrust Institute, Computer and Communications Industry Association, Consumer Action, the League of Fans, the National Consumers League, NetChoice, SaveFans! and StubHub.

SOURCE Fan Freedom Project

Fan Freedom Project

CONTACT: Chris Grimm, +1-202-670-3101, Chris@fanfreedomproject.org

Web Site: http://www.fanfreedom.org

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