Live Performance Australia opposes new proposals for Victoria’s Major Events legislation: “They’ll make scalping easier!”

Live Performance Australia, which represents 400 producers, promoters, venues, festivals and service providers in this country, has opposed proposed amendments to Victorian Major Events legislation.

The legislation was announced last November and includes anti-ticket scalping measures as making it illegal to re-sell tickets at more than 10% in Victoria.

The Minister for Tourism and Major Events will also be able to declare events other than sporting fixtures – like concerts and theatre shows – a major event, which will give them further protection and help the state attract major events.

Anyone breaking the laws would cop a fine ranging from $490 to $475,000.

New authorised ticketing officers will be introduced, and along with Victoria Police officers, will be able to finescalpers who target popular events.

Government will also have greater flexibility to address ticket scalping, with the removal of the nine month lead in period for major events to be declared. .

This nine-month advance notice has been a nightmare for promoters who are at the mercy of the short-notice availability of music, comedy and theatre/musical superstars, as well as the popularity of an act.

However, the opposition Liberals and the Greens party have upset the live sector by separately proposing an amendment to the law.

The Greens’ Sam Hibbins introduced an amendment that would force promoters to reveal how many tickets will be on sale, saying it would be “extra consumer protection”.

The Liberals’ Major Events spokeswoman Heidi Victoria supported the amendment.

But Live Performance Australia’s CEO Evelyn Richardson said, “While we support well thought out and considered measures to combat ticket scalping, we don’t support the measures proposed by the Liberals and Greens.

“The proposed amendments relating to ticket inventory disclosure are impractical, impossible to implement and will give a free kick to ticket scalpers providing them with commercial information that will allow them to further rip offconsumers.

“These rules would be onerous, unworkable and won’t deliver better outcomes for consumers. In fact, it will make ticket scalping easier and more profitable.

“Making changes like this, without consulting the industry will have major unintended consequences.

“For example, just as scalpers use bots to gain a technological advantage over consumers, they would also use information about how many tickets are available to any given event to do the same.“

LPA warned that being provided with ticket volume information would help scalpers know how many tickets to grab for an event, direct their bots to grab them before consumers can access them, and know how to price them.

Richardson added, “If these amendments are passed, Victoria may see promoters taking their shows to other states and it may also act as a major disincentive to attracting major events to Victoria.”

“It appears that both the Liberals and Greens have no understanding of how the live performance industry works.

“We urge them to consult across the industry as a matter of urgency” she said.

Jay Felix, president of Ticket Brokers Association Australia which represents the resellers, says that promoters should not be “allowed to be secretive” about ticket allocation.

He said consumers turned to resale platforms because they think there is only one show.

He also questioned what proportion of tickets on sale went to consumers, and how many to sponsors, competition winners and others.

Promoters argue information about ticket volume is commercially sensitive.

Many shows also rise and fall depending on their appeal and what competition is around at the time.

Adele and Ed Sheeran tours, for instance, started out with six dates and ballooned to three or four times that amount.

Frontier Touring’s Michael Gudinski said it would be “impossible” to predict a show’s size.