Iron Maiden Take Up Fight Against Online Ticket Scalpers

British heavy metal legends Iron Maiden have joined the ongoing battle against online ticket scalpers — or touters, as they are known in the UK — by urging their fans to support a Bill being tabled by government calling for greater transparency in ticket-sale transactions.

"The ever-increasing plague of 'secondary ticketing' excesses are a blight on live music and sports events and much to the detriment of fans," Rod Smallwood, the band's manager, wrote in an official statement. "This affects fans both in terms of fair cost and their equal opportunity to be able to buy tickets when they go on sale. There is an urgent need for greater transparency on ticket sales."

On behalf of the band, Smallwood cites the efforts of the All-Party Parliamentary Group On Ticket Abuse, which is seeking to amend the existing Consumer Rights Bill in order to "increase transparency in the secondary ticketing market, [improve] the information available to consumers buying tickets, [help] to prevent and detect ticket fraud, expose and reduce insider dealing of tickets, and [assist] event-holders to protect consumers from the worst excesses of ticket touting by giving them the information needed to enforce their terms and conditions".

Such measures would include sellers being required to disclose their identity, the original face value of the tickets, the individual characteristics of the ticket — seat or ticket number, that sort of thing — and whether resale is in fact in contravention to the original terms of purchase.

In mid-January, the Bill was overturned in the House Of Commons during the Consideration Of Lords Amendments, sending it back to the House Of Lords, from whence it will eventually return to the Commons until an agreement is reached. According to the Group's website, "it is not known exactly when the Bill will be considered in the Lords — but it is thought to be in early February".

"Your support is critical to demonstrate to this Government that the Public are fully behind us in this opposition to the current abuses," Iron Maiden's statement read. "We would urge all UK Iron Maiden and metal fans to consider supporting this Bill and assist ideally by emailing your local MP or simply going on Facebook or Twitter and rallying behind the cause."

"Join us … in helping bring an end to the profiteering activities of ticket touts online that prevent real fans attending the events they wish to go to, at the price they should be sold the tickets for."

Iron Maiden's message received a signal boost from its inclusion in the newsletter of Brit comic Stewart Lee, who himself offered several pertinent points of interest on the practice of ticket scalping and his opposition to it, not least of all because secondary sellers have been peddling tickets to his show at nearly 400% of their face value, "the utter bastards".

"I oppose touting because I want my shows to be accessible to all, so that everyone can come and hate them as equals, and I cut corners to keep tickets as cheap as venues will allow me to make them … I don't see why this is 'champagne socialism', and if it is, I am all for it."

"Artists shouldn't have to have their tickets sold at higher rates than they want them to be sold at. It is wrong. The free market, in this case, can fuck off."

It's a plight worth keeping in mind as the summer festival season marches on unchecked; a similar movement Down Under was grounded in the pre-state election campaign of Nationals Member for Western Victoria David O'Brien, who in November reiterated: "I'm fighting for fair access to local live rock events for fans. I've long said we need tougher anti-scalping laws to prevent unscrupulous scalping operations buying up tickets and then selling them online at exorbitant prices.

"It stops affordable access to our top regional live music events in places like Meredith. I will work to have these practices examined and reviewed to make sure we get solutions to promote access and affordability to our great live music acts."

Meredith Music Festival's Aunty Meredith echoed the sentiments at the time, adding: "Scalping is an absurd phenomenon that serves no good purpose on any level. Opportunistic blood-suckers are getting something for nothing, causing nothing but grief and ill will, and costing legitimate fans time and money trying to go about their regular activities. Scalping is un-Australian."