UK music industry urges government to crack down on ticket touts

The UK music industry is calling on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to crack down on ticket touts and "tear down barriers" for touring musicians in the EU.

In a letter addressed to Sir Keir Starmer, the CEO of UK Music, Tom Kiehl, urged him to "deliver on his manifesto promises", which pledged to do more for both musicians and music fans in the UK.

"If the King’s Speech, to be delivered on 13 May, fails to deliver progress on two specific and vital Labour manifesto pledges then this will represent a major loss of momentum and land a hammer blow to the huge economic growth music generates," Kiehl said in the letter.

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The Labour party’s manifesto proposed tearing down barriers for UK musicians and crew as touring fees skyrocketed after the UK’s exit from the EU, and pledged to crack down on ticket touting by introducing a cap on secondary ticket sales prices.

In November, the government promised to ban the resale of tickets over face value, revealing that further plans would be addressed in the King’s Speech this month.

The promised ban came after high-profile musicians including Dua Lipa, Coldplay and Radiohead urged Starmer to move ahead with plans to outlaw ticket touts.

"Music fans are the lifeblood of our £8 billion industry, and the government must do everything in its power to ensure they are no longer ripped off on the secondary ticketing market," Kiehl wrote in his letter to Starmer.

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"By introducing a price cap on ticket resale, the government can put an end to profiteering touts pricing real fans out of their favourite artists’ shows."

Others joining calls to the UK government include FanFair Alliance, a campaign group against ticket touting, and the Music Managers Forum, an organisation representing music managers across the UK.

"We urge you to use the forthcoming legislative session to deliver on your clear manifesto commitments regarding ticket resale and EU touring," Kiehl concluded.

Read the full letter here.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Associate Digital Editor, follow her on X