Europe’s leading live music professionals have come together to form the Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing (FEAT), a new organisation intent on promoting fair face value resale across the continent.
A non-profit organisation, FEAT is not some lightweight social welfare group it means big business and brings together promoters and managers who represent some of the most popular artists from both worlds of pop and rock music including Adele, Björk, Ed Sheeran, Iron Maiden, Elton John, Florence + the Machine, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Rolling Stones, Radiohead and Rammstein, as well as several festivals.
FEAT’s key intentions are to:
- Encourage better legislation at national and EU level: Coordinating lobbying efforts for better legislation to protect fans and artists and encouraging enforcement.
- Connect live industry professionals: Sharing knowledge and building consensus towards a fair and safe ticketing marketplace across Europe.
- Collect data and research: Tracking artist and fan concerns, ensuring their interests are represented and voices are heard.
FEAT will be headed from the UK by Sam Shemtob, who has been active in the country’s All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Ticket Abuse, alongside Katie O’Leary and Dominic Athanassiou.
In the UK, there is currently no legislation specifically targeted against online ticket resale at a European level. However traders are obliged to comply with the provisions of Directive 2005/29 EC on unfair commercial practices. This is currently undergoing amendments. Should the UK leaves the EU this March with a deal, it will enter a two year transition period, during which EU law will still apply as if it were a member state.
Speaking on behalf of the European Music Managers Alliance (EMMA), Per Kviman and Virpi Imonnen commented: “In the last decade we’ve seen the live industry flourish, with revenues from concerts and festivals becoming the primary source of income for artists and musicians. But this has come at a price, and, spurred on by the rise of the internet, the secondary ticketing market has thrived, draining money away from fans, artists and the industry. It is great that FEAT has formed to enable us to work together on a European level to share experiences and knowledge and help better the market.”
For more information on FEAT visit the alliance’s newly website by clicking here.
