Yelp drops ticketing affiliate after accusations of “selling fake tickets” and deceiving users

Yelp has cut ties with a ticketing affiliate website call TicketNetwork after demands made by The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA).

NIVA, a trade association representing independent venues, festivals, and promoters in the US, called on Yelp to stop directing its users to to the website, citing its sale of fake and overpriced tickets, in a letter released on August 28.

Executive Director of NIVA Stephen Parker urged Yelp to stop “empowering predatory ticket resellers from deceiving Yelp users.”

He accused the platform of sending buyers to the Yelp-branded website called TicketNetwork – a company that has previously been sued and fined for fraudulent practices – which is selling resale "tickets" that “do not actually exist or are marked up two to four times the price of face value tickets that are often still available from the venue.”

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The letter laid out the fraudulent methods being used by TicketNetwork, including selling tickets for the wrong date or time, selling “speculative” tickets that are not in the reseller’s possession, and price-gouging.

Describing the consequences of these malpractices, Parker said that, not only are concert venues are being harmed, but also consumers and artists, thus eroding the “fabric of our communities and the unique cultural experiences that independent stages provide”.

He called on Yelp to take immediate action by removing all links to TicketNetwork and other predatory resale sites from the profiles of independent venues, festivals, and promoters, in order “protect consumers, uphold the integrity of independent stages, and maintain the trust” of its users.

See the full letter below.

Yelp responded to the letter within two hours of it being made public, thanking NIVA for bringing the issue to its attention and assuring that it would no longer integrate the third-party site.

A Yelp spokesperson told Pollstar, “For 20 years, Yelp’s mission has been to connect people with great local businesses, including independent venues. We thank NIVA for bringing their concerns about TicketNetwork to our attention and have taken immediate steps to turn off that integration.”

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Yelp partnered with TicketNetwork in 2016, sparking a wave of 1-star reviews and unhappy customers. On June 11, one user wrote: “It is fraud! Be aware of this site who are scammers!” while others describe paying for tickets that were never sent, turning up to events to find their seats are wrong and frequently being refused refunds.

Since Yelp cut ties, TicketNetwork has released its own strongly-worded statement to Rolling Stone, accusing: "NIVA and other industry astroturfing efforts [of] pushing for legislation designed to enhance Live Nation Entertainment’s allegedly monopolistic dominance of ticketing by extending it to ticket resale.”

The statement called NIVA's letter “a desperate attempt to distract consumers and lawmakers from the real causes of wildly surging prices for live events – centralized, coordinated control by a handful of major players working together to squash consumer choice.”

NIVA has since responded to this statement, issuing comment to Digital Music News saying: “NIVA was founded to save the independent live industry, which is made up of mom-and-pop businesses across the nation. These stages, their employees, and artists needed a collective voice to fight for survival during the COVID shutdowns.

“NIVA, in fact, is an organization that stands as a counterweight to the anti-competitive practices of publicly traded, multinational conglomerate promoters,” their statement continues. “It is no surprise that TicketNetwork is spreading disinformation about the small businesses and nonprofits that make up the independent live community to distract from the price gouging and fraud rampant on their legally fraught platform. We’re certain their falsehoods won’t fool anyone.”

Meena Sears is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow her on Instagram