Violent Soho’s rant on ticket scalping highlights gap in legislation

BRISBANE rockers Violent Soho have had enough of “selfish pricks” ruining their shows for real fans. On Facebook, their frustration finally boiled over.

Aussie band unleashes on scalpers

BRISBANE rockers Violent Soho have had enough of “selfish pricks” ruining their shows for real fans. On Facebook, their frustration finally boiled over.

“It’s come to our attention today that some selfish individuals out there are trying to scalp tickets to (our) tour for upwards of $200 each. We just wanted to address this publicly as a band and tell those people to kindly F*** Off,” the band wrote this week.

Violent Soho will be touring with DZ Deathrays and DUNE RATS starting May 11. They plan to hit Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Sydney. Tickets for the now sold out shows cost $70. Scalpers who purchased multiple tickets are onselling them for more than $200. When news.com.au searched for tickets on Monday, they were selling for as much as $287.50 per ticket.

“We as a band always try to keep our ticket prices as cheap as possible and the WACO tour is no exception,” the band wrote.

“We were able to pull together what we think is an amazing line-up ... but still keep it affordable for you guys, the fans. So when these selfish pricks go online at 9am and buy tickets just to resell them later at an inflated price, preventing real fans from being able to get tickets, it’s not only extremely offensive to us it devalues everything we as a band are trying to do.”

Fans thanked the band for finally saying something. On Facebook, Laura Allen wrote: “You guys deserve the money, not these w***ers selling for profit.”

Karyn Blanc wrote: “Seriously, capitalising on a person’s culture-seeking-passion in order to make money is disgusting and vile and should be, rightfully met with the contempt that we all feel. These surface-dwellers probably make more money, per ticket sale, than each band member.”

Megastar Prince experienced Australia’s flawed system after announcing shows in Sydney last month. All 1500 tickets to the Sydney Opera House performances sold out in under 10 minutes.

Tickets started around $100 but the more expensive seats set fans back $400. While those who missed out took to social media express their dismay, scalpers immediately began posting tickets on eBay and Gumtree for as much as $610.

SCALPING LAWS INCONSISTENT

The scalpers are only one part of a bigger problem. A 2013/14 parliamentary inquiry determined ticket scalping was not a big problem in Australia and new laws were not required. Committee chair Senator Mark Bishop said at the time even he was surprised by that finding.

“I had expected the opposite,” he told the media upon releasing the inquiry’s report.

In Australia, each state and territory is responsible for administering its own laws on the subject. In NSW, ticket scalping is not a crime except in areas around the Sydney Cricket Ground and Sydney Olympic Park. Laws are different in Queensland where parliament recently passed legislation making scalping an offence under certain but not all conditions.

In Victoria, it’s different again. There are five offences under Victorian law, including that it is illegal to advertise and sell tickets above face value.

As part of the parliamentary inquiry, event promoters suggested the secondary market (eBay and Gumtree) was to blame for allowing resale. The secondary market in turn blamed the primary market (Ticketek and Ticketmaster). Online ticket marketplace Viagogo submitted that taking away resale rights was a major violation of property principles.

“Viagogo was of the view that regulating the secondary market would lead to unintended consequences,” the inquiry noted.

“It maintained that introducing restrictions on resale violates basic (rules of) property ownership. Once someone has bought something — whether that’s a house, a car, stocks, or a ticket — it is their right to resell it if they wish.”

‘WE WELCOME A FULL REVIEW’

A spokeswoman for eBay told news.com.au the company was “in support of a full review of ticket onselling” and was working with ticket issuers “to help improve online ticket purchasing”.

In a statement, eBay Australia said: “eBay believes that it’s important to provide consumers with a safe and fair secondary market that protects the interests of Australians.”

Gumtree earlier this year made it more difficult for Australian scalpers to use its service by removing its Ticket Wanted ads.

“We’ve decided to remove this option as feedback from our community revealed that it was causing confusion and frustration whilst they were trying to locate tickets,” Gumtree said.

“There have also been instances where ticket scalpers and scammers were targeting people looking for tickets.”

A review would be welcome news for music industry professionals like Violent Soho, who are fed up with the status quo.

“Please SHARE this with your friends and make sure none of you pay more than you should to see our band on this tour,” they wrote on Facebook.

“We’re currently looking into adding more shows and even if you miss out, we promise you will have another chance to see us play in the future. Do not support these selfish motherf******.”

Gumtree and Ticketmaster were approached for comment but did not respond by the time of publishing.

Originally published as Violent Soho’s rant on ticket scalping highlights gap in legislation