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UK music industry hits back at government’s “draft” ticket tout ban after King’s Speech
The UK music industry has criticised the government after ticket tout reforms were downgraded to a draft bill in the King’s Speech.
The UK music industry has reacted with disappointment after the government framed its long-promised ticket tout crackdown as a draft bill in Wednesday’s King’s Speech, a move that effectively pushes the legislation further down the road.
That reaction landed with extra force because Keir Starmer had only last week told live music fans he wanted to “stamp out ticket touts for good,” promising action “as soon as possible” in a letter first revealed exclusively by NME. The language from Downing Street sounded decisive. The parliamentary reality was less so.
In the Houses of Parliament today, the plan appeared under the name Draft Ticket Tout Ban Bill. That matters. Draft bills are sent into consultation and pre-legislative scrutiny first, meaning they are examined by committees, industry groups and consumers before they can be formally introduced. In practice, that can stretch the timeline considerably, with any law still potentially years away.
The government says the bill will “seek to destroy the operating model of ticket touts, improve access for genuine fans when tickets originally go on sale, and end rip-off resale prices once and for all”. On paper, the measures are broad: reselling above original value would become illegal, service fees would be capped, selling more tickets than you were entitled to buy would be banned, resale platforms would face obligations and the Competition and Markets Authority would gain power to issue tough fines.
But for much of the sector, the frustration is not about the policy outline. It is about the delay.
Tom Kiehl, chief executive of UK Music, called the government’s approach “a betrayal of millions of music fans”, arguing that the ongoing resale market continues to funnel money away from UK audiences and into the profits of ticket resale businesses overseas. He urged MPs to look for another route and secure primary legislation during this Parliamentary session.
Ticketmaster UK managing director Sarah Slater also described the lack of immediate action as disappointing, pointing out that Ticketmaster voluntarily capped resale prices at face value in 2018 and has since invested in safer digital tickets, stronger bot detection, clearer pricing and better queue information. “As long as touts are allowed to make huge profits reselling tickets on other platforms, the problem will continue,” she said.
Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at Which?, said it was especially frustrating given Starmer’s promise just days earlier. She warned that a draft bill could invite more consultation and review while “ruthless touts” and “rip-off secondary ticketing sites” continue to operate, and called on the government to deliver a finalised bill within 12 months.
The criticism was not limited to consumer groups and primary sellers. Annabella Coldrick, chief executive of the Music Managers Forum, said the decision to bury the issue in the “footnotes” of the King’s Speech was “hugely disappointing”, especially after a Labour manifesto pledge, a public consultation and what she described as strong commitments to legislate last November. She said fans are already losing “hundreds of millions of pounds each year” to price-gouging touts and called for “deeds, not words”.
Adam Webb, campaign manager for FanFair Alliance, was similarly blunt. While he backed the government’s stated aim to “put fans first” and ban touting “as soon as possible”, he questioned why ministers would choose “the long road” when fan protections could be delivered now.
Fontaines D.C. perform at Night People in Manchester in 2018 (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)
The government’s response framed the pause as caution rather than hesitation. A spokesperson said ministers remain committed to stamping out ticket touting and need the time to make sure the legislation is “effective, enforceable and future-proof”.
Viagogo, for its part, pushed back against the idea that a resale price cap is the answer. The company said it recognises the need for reform but does not believe caps will increase competition, improve choice or reduce fraud. It argued that resale makes up just 6 per cent of the market, with primary platforms dominating the remaining 94 per cent, and said genuine reform should begin with open ticketing and linked primary and resale systems.
That debate did not begin this week. Labour first put ticket touting in its 2024 manifesto, promising to “put fans back at the heart of events by introducing new consumer protections on ticket resales”. In January 2025, the government said it would introduce a cap on resale prices and launch an official consultation into the industry and the controversial practice of dynamic pricing. The consultation ran from January 10 until April 4.
Even so, by last November there were already complaints that little concrete progress had materialised, prompting artists including Radiohead, Sam Fender and Dua Lipa to urge the government to keep its pledge. Then, after the January announcement, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told NME the measures would be laid out in the King’s Speech and would still need to pass through both Houses before becoming law.
Concern returned last month when fresh signs suggested the issue had slipped from the government’s agenda. Another open letter followed, signed by management for artists including Arctic Monkeys, Ed Sheeran, Fontaines D.C., Keane, Nick Cave and Radiohead.
The ticket touting row sits alongside another live-music pledge that has been watched closely by the sector. When NME asked Starmer last August about the £1 ticket levy supporting grassroots venues, he said he was “very supportive” of the initiative, adding that so much of the country’s music comes from the grassroots. The government backed a levy on arena-level shows and above last year, with acts including Coldplay, Katy Perry, Sam Fender and Mumford & Sons among those implementing it on major tours.
