Darren Loucaides is a travel writer and music critic for the BBC. He’s lived and travelled in Italy, the Middle East and Latin America, and has become obsessed with the parallels between cultural and political trends.

Long gone are the days when you'd queue up at the box office to purchase a ticket for a music or sporting event, or patiently wait for a paper ticket to arrive in the post. With the internet and ever-evolving technology, ticketing is increasingly digital. And as mobile technology advances, it could soon be all done through a touchscreen. But there are downsides to this brave new world?

We've all been there – waiting patiently at our computers for the moment tickets go on sale, finger poised above the refresh button, only to find that they’ve all been sold in three minutes. Moments later, hundreds of tickets appear on a secondary ticketing website like Viagogo or StubHub with huge mark-ups – often by up to 1,760% according to official studies. 

In theory, it’s a nice idea having a place to resell tickets. But in reality people just see an opportunity to make money

Ticket touting is not new. People have been standing outside the gates of concerts and football matches shifting tickets at inflated prices for years. But with the internet and evolving technology, touting has become more advanced and all too prevalent online. The old-fashioned tout has tooled up for the 21st century, with many using bots to help them get their hands on sought-after tickets on an industrial scale. 

New legislation was passed in 2015 aimed at increasing consumer protection and regulating the ticket resale market, but a report from 

 found that violations were still common on secondary ticketing platforms. Now, an independent review commissioned by the government has been published, highlighting the extent of the work still needed. Are the touts here to stay? And what is the future of ticketing?

“Disgraceful,” said Sir Elton John about the amount tickets are marked up by resellers. “I'd rather see empty seats.” Adele had a similar response on hearing that seats to one London show were being put up for resale at £24,000 each. 

 They're not the only industry voices speaking out. An anti-touting petition amassed tens of thousands of signatures after winning the backing of acts including Mumford & Sons, Little Mix, and Florence and the Machine. Many are calling for the UK to go Australian by following Queensland's ban on people selling tickets that are marked up by more than 10% of the original price. 

Much of the problem lies with the ease of reselling on secondary ticketing platforms. 

 spent a week monitoring the main sites in the UK and found all four carried listings that appeared to be in breach of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which required anyone reselling a ticket on a secondary platform to provide details of the seat row and number, as well as the face value. 

There’s scope for a Glastonbury-type authentication becoming more widespread. Younger consumers are less reluctant than older ones to have an official ‘identity’, because they’re used to this through social media

There are obvious pros to reselling tickets. If the buyer can no longer attend the event, websites like Viagogo and Get Me In offer a way of recouping their money. Meanwhile, if someone isn’t around at the time of general sale – or is the more ‘spontaneous type’ – secondary ticketing platforms are a lifeline. 

 “I use ticket resellers for concerts and sports events,” says 33-year-old American Reynaldo. “They’re convenient if you’re willing to pay the price, including overcharge and steep fees, and if you 

 want to go to said concert or match. So I love and hate them.” 

A report from Europe Economics in 2009 found that the value of primary tickets was £300 million; given an average mark-up estimated at three times face value, the secondary ticket market was estimated at £900 million a year. Clearly, this is big business. Mark-ups for a popular football match could be as high as 1,000%, the report found. 

 “It's annoying when tickets sell out for gigs immediately, then an hour later they’re all over ticket reseller websites and eBay at a hugely inflated price,” says 31-year-old Paul from London. “In theory, it’s a nice idea having a place to resell tickets if you need to. But in reality people just see an opportunity to make money.” 

Whether it’s a trip to the seaside or a Beyoncé concert, tickets don’t come cheap

The public outcry has been growing over ticketing for some time, and it’s a subject that hasn't been mitigated by last year's legislation. But an investigation by 

 in 2015 only increased the pressure on the government to take action. After eight weeks monitoring four of the biggest secondary ticketing websites, the publication found that, while tickets for most events are sold through the venue, or through primary ticket websites such as Ticketmaster and See Tickets, once tickets from these sources sell out, fans either miss out or pay over the odds on the secondary market – sites where tickets are sold at a mark-up. 

The investigation found numerous anomalies and violations of the rules. StubHub had 364 tickets on sale for Rod Stewart’s UK tour the day before the pre-sale began, while Viagogo listed tickets for Benedict Cumberbatch’s Hamlet at the Barbican. Even though the venue imposed strict resale restrictions and asked for photo ID on the door, tickets cost up to £1,500, when the face value was £62.50. 

 also found that all four of the major websites it scrutinised flouted rules about notifying customers of seating details and the original face value. 

Worse still, 29% of people don’t understand the difference between primary and secondary ticket companies. This is no surprise when the line between promoters, venues, and primary and secondary ticketing agents is so blurred. Ticketmaster, for example, became a Live Nation company in 2010 and now owns secondary sites Get Me In and Seatwave. 

How much would you pay to see your favourite band?

With the public outcry growing, an independent review was commissioned by the government in 2015. 

 “As an economist, the thing that most surprised me was a failure of some parties in the primary market to recognise that ticket pricing, ticket distribution and venue control are intimately linked, rather than separate,” says the review's author, Michael Waterson, a professor of economics at Warwick University. “If prices are set clearly below market level, there will always be people who’ll buy up tickets to sell them on at a premium, and won’t be dissuaded by simple rules. The absence, in practice, of venue controls means there is no difficulty in getting around anything said on the ticket such as 'not transferable'.” 

Waterson approves of Glastonbury's ticketing model, whereby tickets are personalised and ID is checked at the gates. “I think there’s scope for a 'Glastonbury-type' authentication becoming more widespread,” he says. “Younger consumers are less reluctant than older ones to have an official ‘identity’, because they’re used to this through social media. It certainly provides a good model for festivals.” 

On the flipside, in addition to the positives of the resale market, Waterson points to the fact that for some events, buying resale tickets could even be a cheaper way of attending. The highest resale prices are often obtained at the point of general sale, while resale value declines afterwards for all but the most popular events, he explains. 

Mobile ticketing could become the new norm

“This is a complex sector,” says Waterson. “While it’s still possible to see people outside venues for popular events, the internet has fundamentally changed the ticketing environment over the last ten years. This has made it easier for people to apply for tickets in the first place, but also enabled the resale market to thrive.” 

While there are many drawbacks to the internet's conquest of ticketing, there’s no putting the genie back in the bottle. In fact, the way in which we buy tickets is likely to become more advanced. Research by Juniper estimates that mobile purchases for transport and event tickets will more than double by 2020, hitting 23 billion. In short, mobile ticketing is the future. 

As smartphone penetration grows and people search on their phones for a last minute thing to do, mobile ticketing can be a great asset, while integrating loyalty programmes with mobile ticketing allows for upselling. Perhaps most tellingly for this report, mobile tickets would make mass reselling more difficult. Just as it has enabled touts to use bots to manipulate the primary ticketing market, it’s technology that may end industrial-scale touting in the years to come. 

The internet has fundamentally changed the ticketing environment. It's made it easier for people to apply for tickets, but also enabled the resale market to thrive

In terms of entertainment, the industry is eyeing the potential of mobile ticketing closely. Three Hollywood studios have combined to set up mobile ticketing start-up 

, for example. Not only does the app offer an easy way to find screenings, discounts and actually buy tickets, it uses social network integration to help people find others to attend a screening with. “It's a way to try to increase ticket buying among the more youthful audience,” says Eric Handler, a media analyst at MKM Partners. “It's something people are trying and experimenting with.” 

 Juniper's research suggests that mobile tickets can be used for additions like food and drink, a seating map and interactive services throughout the event too. 

“There are several technologies in development that have the potential to assist the primary industry in reducing mass purchase,” says Waterson. “I would anticipate that, like other areas of the digital economy, there will be development of various rivals that will result in a dominant standard coming about. The industry needs to embrace such technology.” 

 So no matter what the future holds for ticketing, it’s certainly going to be altered beyond recognition to keep up with the ever-expanding expectations of the consumer.

is a travel writer and music critic for the BBC. He’s lived and travelled in Italy, the Middle East and Latin America, and has become obsessed with the parallels between cultural and political trends.

Getting Around

Travel and Leisure

‘Analysis of the secondary sales market for tickets for sporting, cultural and other events’, Europe Economics

‘Call for ticket touting to be criminalised’, The Guardian

‘Ticket sites 'must do more to fight touts'’, BBC News

‘Ticket resale websites face new scrutiny’, The Guardian

'Independent review of consumer protection measures concerning online secondary ticketing facilities’, Gov.uk

Interview with Reynaldo conducted by author

Interview with Paul conducted by author

‘Which? probes ticket resale rip-off’, Which?

Interview with Michael Waterson conducted by author

‘Mobile ticketing to surge, says Juniper’, Telecompaper

‘This movie-ticket start-up says it can fill empty theaters across the country’, The Los Angeles Times

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