Tasmanians should be able to enjoy festivals and concerts without forking out huge amounts for tickets sold by scalpers.
Labor Leader Rebecca White said as Tasmanians head into the festival season the issue is top of mind.
“Nobody wins from ticket scalping other than the person or business on-selling the tickets. Fans face huge mark-ups, and no benefits flow to the artist.
“That’s why all other Australian states have acted to crack down on ticket scalping. We think it’s time Tasmania followed their lead to stamp out practices that rip off Tasmanians.”
Examples in Tasmania of where ticket scalpers are cashing in include:
- A two day pass for the Falls Festival marked up by 35%
- A 72% mark up for the Hunters and Collectors
- A shocking 102% mark up on The Wiggles
Tassie band Luca Brasi is part of the line up at this year’s Falls Festival. Front man Tyler Richardson said ticket scalping is hurting the music industry.
“Touring and live shows is where bands make their livelihood. Ticket scalping cuts the throats of bands, because someone else is getting the benefit of massively inflated ticket prices.
“And scalping hurts the fans. We’ve had instances of fans buying fake tickets, or buying re-sold tickets for huge markups, but not being able to get into the show. Watching fans get ripped off is so disheartening.
“Whether the scalping is happening online or in the real world, we want to see laws that protect both fans and artists.”
Ms White said the kinds of restrictions that should be implemented include:
- banning the sale of tickets for more than 10% of their original price
- banning ‘ticket bots’, which scalpers use to harvest tickets as soon as they become available online
- making it an offence to host advertisements for ticket sales that contravene these laws
“These changes don’t have to wait for the election of a Labor government – Will Hodgman could act now to protect Tasmanian concert goers.
“Tasmanians want to be able to enjoy home grown and visiting artists at a reasonable price. It’s time to stamp out practices that exploit consumers.”
Rebecca White
Labor Leader
