THE organiser of the T in the Park music festival has signalled that some tickets for the event may be sold through online auctions in an attempt to frustrate ticket touting.
DF Concerts managing director Geoff Ellis said revenue lost to “bedroom ticket touts using the internet” was becoming “an ever-increasing problem”, and wants the revenue lost in this secondary market to come back to the music industry instead.

Though he said he would be sorry if auctions led to price rises for ordinary fans, Ellis said the secondary market of touts, internet ticket sites and individuals selling online was “getting out of control”.

“It is not ideal, in fact it might seem as if we are touting ourselves, but it might be a solution for the industry to retake the secondary market,” he said.

“At recent meetings with Tessa Jowell [secretary of state for culture, media and sport], she agreed that events shouldn’t be for those with the biggest wallets, but the secondary market is out of hand.

“Technology is allowing bedroom ticket touts to flourish – this is a very different situation to that of a guy in a sheepskin jacket touting a ticket outside the Barrowlands rock venue in Glasgow.

“It might well set prices higher, which would be against the socialist ethos we have run this event on, where we sit down with artists and discuss how much people are paying to get in, but the problem is getting worse and worse. Live music is on the upturn and events are selling out quicker than before.”

An auction system of sales could see the market set its own price. A weekend ticket for next weekend’s T in the Park festival at Balado, in Kinross, costs £115 including camping. However, they were changing hands for £300 on auction site eBay yesterday.

Posted: 07|2|06 at 1:01 pm. Filed under: UK News.