The music industry has been left “disappointed” by the UK government’s draft bill on a ticket tout ban in the King’s Speech today (Wednesday May 13).
Just last week, Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed to “stamp out ticket touts for good” in a letter to live music fans, promising to act “as soon as possible”, as exclusively revealed by NME.
However, in the King’s Speech delivered in the Houses of Parliament earlier today, the plans to tackle the issue were introduced as a draft bill, dubbed the Draft Ticket Tout Ban Bill. Its status as only a draft bill deprioritises this vital piece of legislation, and it will likely result in it becoming a much lengthier process than it could have been if introduced as a primary government bill.
Draft bills are designed to be subject to consultation and pre-legislative scrutiny from parliamentary committees, industry groups and consumers before being formally introduced to Parliament as legislation, meaning any eventual law to combat ticket touting could still be years away.
The government has said the draft 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”.
It would make it illegal to resell a ticket at more than its original cost, cap service fees, make it illegal to resell more tickets than you are entitled to buy, place obligations on resale platforms and empower the Competition and Markets Authority to impose tough fines.
However, many in the music industry have been left disappointed that the bill will be subject to consultation before arriving in Parliament.
Tom Kiehl, chief executive of UK Music, has said: “The Government’s failure to take long promised action on the shady ticket touts and rogue businesses who continue to rip off consumers is a betrayal of millions of music fans. Until we get action on sky-high ticket resales, we will continue to see cash siphoned overseas from the wallets of UK fans and the UK music industry in order to swell the already huge profits of ticket resale businesses.”
“I urge MPs to explore the legislative programme and identify alternative opportunities to ensure primary legislation is passed in this year’s Parliamentary session,” he added.
Ticketmaster UK’s managing director Sarah Slater has said: “No definitive legislative action to stop ticket touts profiteering is disappointing. Ticketmaster voluntarily capped resale prices at face value back in 2018 and continues to invest in protecting fans with safer digital tickets, stronger bot detection, clearer pricing and better information in the queue.”
“As long as touts are allowed to make huge profits reselling tickets on other platforms, the problem will continue.”
Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at Which?, said: “It’s disappointing that full legislation to crack down on touts has not been included in the King’s Speech, especially since the Prime Minister committed just last week to getting this done ‘as soon as possible’.”
“Relegating the legislation to a draft bill could result in a lengthy process of more consultations and reviews. All the while ruthless touts will continue to thrive and rip-off secondary ticketing sites will try to chip away at the legislation. The government must make good on its promises to fans by delivering a finalised bill in the next 12 months.”
Others to be critical of the government’s decision include Annabella Coldrick, chief executive of the Music Managers Forum. “Despite having been reassured by the Prime Minister in a letter to fans on Friday that there would be action ‘as soon as possible’, the relegation of this important issue to a ‘draft bill’ in the footnotes of the King’s Speech is hugely disappointing.”
“Having campaigned on this issue for a decade, and following a Labour manifesto commitment and full public consultation by Government resulting in strong commitments to legislate last November, it’s puzzling to see the logic in kicking this back down the line.”
“Choosing the longer path via a ‘draft ticket tout ban bill’ will also adversely impact music fans, who are already losing hundreds of millions of pounds each year to price-gouging ticket touts. Further delays will cost them dearly.”
“We agree with the Prime Minister that legislation must be well-drafted and effective. But we need deeds, not words, and a clear and coherent timeline on when this manifesto promise will be fulfilled.”
Those sentiments were echoed by Adam Webb, campaign manager for FanFair Alliance, who noted: “We fully support the Government’s commitment to ‘put fans first’ and ban ticket touting ‘as soon as possible’. However, draft legislation offers a curiously circuitous route to deliver these long-promised reforms. Why take the long road when you could protect music fans today?”
Responding to the criticism, a government spokesperson said:“As the Prime Minister has made clear, we remain fully committed to stamping out ticket touting for good. For too long, fans have been ripped off and we’re determined to right that wrong.
“That’s why we are taking the time to get this right by bringing forward draft legislation to ensure that our measures are truly effective, enforceable and future-proof and fans get the protection and security they have always deserved.”
Meanwhile, secondary ticket site Viagogo said that while they “recognise the government’s position and the need for legislation that improves ticketing for fans in the UK,” they “do not believe a resale price cap will ensure fans have choice, increase competition in the UK ticketing market, or reduce ticket fraud.”
“We’re ready to work with the government on practical, pro-competitive reforms to create a better ticketing industry,” a spokesperson said. “Resale accounts for just 6 per cent of the market, while primary platforms dominate at 94 per cent. Real progress requires looking at the whole ecosystem starting with open ticketing.
“Linking primary and resale platforms would increase competition, lower prices, improve traceability, and give fans more choice in safer, more transparent environments.”
They added: “Without this joined-up approach, reform will fall short. Focusing only on price caps risks entrenching a dominant primary player, driving prices higher and leaving fans with fewer options and greater risk.”
The issue of ticket touting was first addressed by Labour in their 2024 Manifesto, which saw the party promise to “put fans back at the heart of events by introducing new consumer protections on ticket resales”.
In January 2025, the government then announced that it would impose a price cap on how much touts can resell tickets for, and also launch an official consultation into the industry and controversial ‘dynamic pricing’ practices.
The consultation ran from January 10 until April 4, but by last November no concrete plans had been announced, spurring the likes of Radiohead, Sam Fender, Dua Lipa, and more to call on the government to keep their pledge.
Days after the statement was shared, the government announced its plan to introduce a price cap on secondary ticket sales in a bid to “protect fans from rip-off prices”. At the time, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told NME that the efforts would be outlined in the King’s Speech. From there, she explained, it would have to “pass both the Houses of Lords and Parliament to become law”.
However, last month fresh concerns emerged that the issue had slipped out of the government’s agenda, prompting music industry figures to pen another open letter asking the government not to make a U-turn on their promise. Signatures came from management for huge artists, including Arctic Monkeys, Ed Sheeran, Fontaines D.C., Keane, Nick Cave and Radiohead.
NME also interviewed Starmer last August, where he was asked about the £1 ticket levy to help support the survival of grassroots music venues – which has been implemented on major live tours by the likes of Coldplay, Katy Perry, Sam Fender and Mumford & Sons.
“I’m very supportive of this initiative, the £1 levy going back into grassroots [venues], because so much of our music is grassroots,” Starmer responded at the time, after the government backed a levy on shows at arena level and above last year.
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