Ticketmaster set to close Seatwave sites

The sites have been heavily criticised by Irish and international artists as they have been exploited by ticket touts, with in-demand tickets often being resold on these sites for vastly inflated prices.

Speaking about the move today, Keith English, Managing Director of Ticketmaster Ireland, said: “Closing Seatwave and creating a new ticket exchange has always been part of Ticketmaster’s long-term plan. It’s not just in Ireland, it is happening across Europe."

In the new system, ticketholders will can sell their tickets directly back Ticketmaster, where a simple click will release them back into the market.

Unlike the current system, you will only be allowed to charge the original price or less - though there will a 15% surcharge on every ticket to cover booking fees paid by the seller.

Ticketmaster made the announcement in a press release this morning, saying that "secondary sites just don't cut it anymore". They have announced it as part of a European strategy. You can read the full press release here.

Keith English also added: “Our number one priority is to get tickets into the hands of fans so that they can go to the events they love. We are aware that fans are tired of seeing others snap up tickets just to resell for a profit on secondary websites, so we have decided to take action.

“And now we are delighted to launch our redesigned website which will make buying and selling tickets fast and simple, with all tickets in the same place.

“Our new Ticketmaster ticket exchange lets fans sell tickets they can’t use directly through their Ticketmaster account, for the price originally paid or less. Selling tickets through Ticketmaster is really simple: we do all the hard work and outline the maximum that can be charged for the ticket – and it doesn’t cost fans a penny to sell them.

“We’ve also put all the tickets in one place to make buying tickets simple and convenient. Fans will find all ticket types clearly marked on the same seat map, whether those are standard, Platinum, VIP or face value resale tickets, with the total price to pay clear from the start.”

The decision to shut down Seatwave and Get Me In comes just weeks after the Irish government backed a private members bill by Noel Rock and Stephen Donnelly that would ban the resale of tickets for more than face value.

At the same time, BBC reports that the UK's Competition and Markets Authority is conducting an investigation into the secondary market and has said it is considering legal action against the Swiss-based firm Viagogo.

"Selling tickets through Ticketmaster is really simple: We do all the hard work and outline the maximum that can be charged for the ticket - and it doesn't cost fans a penny to sell them."

Some of the changes will take effect immediately. From today (Monday 13 August), there will be no new events listed on Get Me In or Seatwave.

Ticketmaster has said that the sites will close permanently in October in the UK and Ireland; and later in the year for the rest of Europe.

However, people will still be able to sell tickets for a profit on rival services including Viagogo and the eBay-owned Stubhub.

Noel Rock welcomed the news this morning.

Monday is off to a fairly flying start - https://t.co/S5O2Ug2CQt

— Noel Rock (@NoelRock) 13 August 2018