Photo Credit: FEAT (Back row: Kim Worsøe (All Things Live, Denmark), Ben Mitha (Karsten Jahnke Konzertdirektion, Germany), Kiki Ressler (KKT, Germany), Christof Huber (Gadget abc Entertainment Group, Switzerland), Stefan Wyss (Gadget abc Entertainment Group, Switzerland), Peter Aiken (Aiken Promotions, Ireland), Mathilde van Geertruyden (Greenhouse Talent, Belgium), Chris Ortiz (Riff Producciones, Spain), Olivier Darbois (Corida, France), María Lagos (Doctor Music, Spain) Front row: Eduard Mercé (FC Barcelona, Spain), Maherí Contreras (B:SM, Spain), Alex Argimon (FC Barcelona, Spain), Neo Sala (Doctor Music, Spain), Sam Shemtob (FEAT, UK), Tristan Skelley (FEAT, UK), María Argomániz (Get In, Spain), Scumeck Sabottka (MCT-Agentur, Germany), Stéphanie Foulgoc (NEXT avocats, France)
The Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing (FEAT) held its annual general meeting in Barcelona, Spain on October 17. Members from eight different countries met to discuss the ongoing battle to end ticket scalping across Europe.
In an update on the organization’s official position, FEAT members agreed that ticket resale should only take place via platforms that have been approved by the event promoter, with newly barcoded tickets then reissued to buyers. All resale should take place at face value only to prevent ticket speculation and grey market resale profits.
FEATs members reported 275 illegal resale listings using the EU’s Digital Services Act, comprising nearly 1,000 tickets. Of these reports, not a single response was received from the unauthorized resellers—representing a further contravention of the DSA. Members of FEAT have vowed to continue gathering evidence of DSA infringements and to lobby the EU for better enforcement with stricter requirements for takedowns and faster escalations.
“In FEAT’s sixth year of being established, it’s great to see such a good representation at our [annual general meeting], together with agreement on an updated position of promoter-approved resale only,” FEAT Founding Directors Neo Sala and Scumeck Sabottka told Digital Music News. “Unauthorized websites continue to list hundreds of tickets for resale every day, ripping off tens of thousands of consumers each year across Europe. We have our eye on you.”
The Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing is a non-profit organization formed in 2019 to promote better ticket resale practices across Europe. FEAT’s memebrs are leading live event professionals from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, as well as EEA member Switzerland.
The EU’s Digital Services Act went into full force on February 17, 2024 and is intended to tackle illegal content online while enforcing accountability for online platforms of all sizes. The DSA has substantial consequences for concert ticketing, especially regarding secondary marketing sales. Online ticket marketplaces must identify and verify sellers listing tickets, showing names and contact details alongside listings. This is to reduce anonymous ticket touts.
Platforms must publish annual reports on content takedowns, revealing the scale of illegal ticket sales. The DSA also places a ban on manipulative design like panic-inducing pop-ups and undue prominence for certain markets. The aim here is to prevent consumers from being rushed into a purchase they might not otherwise make. Under the act, these ticketing companies like StubHub and Viagogo are supposed to proactively report and remove listings for illegal tickets rather than waiting on consumer complaints.
