The programme on Channel 4 revealed that thousands of event tickets on secondary sites Viagogo and Seatwave, which claim to be ‘fan-to-fan’ ticket exchanges, are sold by promoters and in-house buyers rather than fans.
More than 29,000 tickets for the 2011 Take That Tour were allocated to Viagogo by promoter SJM Concerts. Promoters Live Nation, Phil Macintyre Entertainment and Metropolois music were also revealed to allocate tickets directly to Viagogo before offering them at face value.
Seatwave dropped the ‘fan-to-fan’ phrase from its logo last week as a result of the Dispatches investigation.
Christiaan Munro, co-founder of secondary ticket platform The Ticket Trust said the investigation had "made public what many in the music industry have known or suspected for a long time".
He said: "The wholesale use of the secondary market is not necessarily illegal but is morally abhorrent. We take great pride in having established The Ticket Trust secondary platform with the Association of Independent Festivals and hope that many more other real music fans can get to sell or buy unwanted tickets at face value in a fair and transparent manner. I guess it is now time for those involved to ask themselves if they are still comfortable biting the hand that feeds."
A spokesman for the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) said The Ticket Trust had been in 2011 as a direct response to the "immoral operations" of sites such as Viagogo.
He said: "Dispatches' exposé on secondary ticketing sites has revealed that the majority of tickets on secondary ticketing sites are purchased and sold by touts and in-house buyers. The Ticket Trust is a genuine fan to fan ticket exchange, which offers a safe and secure platform for resale of unwanted tickets at face value."
Dave Newton, director of website WeGotTickets said the programme "highlighted how certain parts of the live industry have been complicit in these "legitimised" touting practices - agents, promoters and, in many cases, artists themselves."
"We encourage customers to investigate where they’re buying their tickets from, if the company doesn’t account for their fees or where the ticket comes from then questions should be asked. Every penny of [WeGotTickets] fees are fully accounted for and our booking fee is also the lowest in the industry – this is a policy of transparency that we have campaigned for for years and will continue to adhere to."
The Concert Promoter’s Association, whose members include Live Nation, SJM and Metropolis Music, told programme makers that promoters putting tickets onto the secondary market brought prices down, while ensuring that some tickets in the resell market were genuine.
It said: "In this respect the secondary market is effectively being used as a premium price primary market for those fans who wish to use it for convenience."
It added that fans would "be happier that the premium went to the artist via the promoter rather than went to a tout."
Live Nation, SJM, Metropolis Music and Phil Macintyre Entertainment declined Event's request to comment further today.
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