Latest O2 and YouGov data: Nearly three quarters of concertgoers want to see rules against the resale of tickets for profit

12 January 2025 - Press release

 

• Consumer support for regulation of ticket resales in the UK jumped to 72% by the end of 2024
• O2, a longtime supporter of the FanFair Alliance: “One thing that can truly stop touts in their tracks is legislation. We’re calling for the UK to follow in the footsteps of countries including Ireland and France and ban the resale of concert tickets for significant profits – it's time to bring in laws to protect fans and live music.”

Brand new research conducted by O2 – which sold over 1.5 million tickets in 2024 through its Priority Tickets platform - and YouGov shows there has been a jump of in support of regulation of the secondary ticketing market amongst concertgoers in the UK. 

The increase of 9% – apparent over a period of just five months, between July to December 2024 – means that almost three quarters (72%) of music fans who attended live music events now believe there should be rules in place against the resale of tickets for significant profits. This figure is up from 63% in July 2024.

Last year, O2 and YouGov released research which showed the impact ticket touts are having on gig goers’ pockets, with greedy touts costing music fans an additional £145 million per year on ticket purchases. O2 also revealed that it had blocked more than 50,000 suspected bots from entering its Priority Tickets platform in just a six-week period. The ticketing platform allows members to access early pre-sale tickets to some of the biggest shows in the UK – its most popular shows in 2024 included tours by Dua Lipa, Lana Del Rey, Usher and Billie Eilish.

On the latest research, Gareth Griffiths, Director, Sponsorship and Partnerships at Virgin Media O2, commented: “2024 was another massive year for live entertainment, music fans and unfortunately, ticket touts. We are tired of seeing tickets taken out of fans’ hands in the name of profit and it is clear that fans feel the same. O2 is working tirelessly to try to beat the bots and protect our customers and music fans. One thing that can stop touts in their tracks is legislation. We’re calling for the UK to follow in the footsteps of countries including Ireland and France and ban the resale of concert tickets for significant profits – it's time to bring in laws to protect fans and live music.”

Adam Webb, Campaign Manager, FanFair Alliance: “These findings from YouGov and O2 are incredibly timely, with the Government consultation on ways to protect UK audiences from predatory online ticket touts and unscrupulous offshore resale platforms now launched.  

“The FanFair campaign has made it clear on how this can be achieved. The UK needs legislation that prohibits ticket resale for profit, and it needs to be properly enforced - while allowing fans to easily resell for the price they originally paid.

“If we get this right, the results should be transformative, and help ensure hundreds of millions of pounds remain in the back pockets of UK music lovers."

Other findings from the research include almost half (47%) of music fans who attended live music events agreeing that ticket touts make it difficult to get tickets to shows they want to see (up from 32% in July) and 70% of them agreeing that ticket touts are wrongly profiting from fans (up from 63%).