The importance of creating a fair and equal music industry

Creating a fair and equal music industry is crucial for sustaining creativity, innovation and growth, something that ticket reselling site Twickets and founder Richard Davies wants to achieve.

Whilst creating a fair and equal music industry is a moral requirement, by upholding this, leaders in the sector ensure that creativity, innovation, and sustainable growth continue to thrive. And one of those companies striving to achieve that kind of industry is Twickets.

What initially started as a page on Twitter (hence the name), Twickets has rapidly become one of the most trusted and largest ticket resale hubs in the industry. It's revolutionising the ticket resale landscape by creating a trusted and ethical resale movement.

Whether you missed out on that highly desired ticket or want a night out at a gig, Twickets is your one-stop shop to secure these. But what makes it better than established sites like StubHub or Viagogo?

Well, unlike those sites, the prices of tickets are capped at the original face value of the ticket, meaning no touts can charge you through the nose to get a hold of concert tickets. Those trusted ticket sites allow profiteering on resales.

The chaos behind the ticket system has scarred the industry. Whether that be Taylor Swift’s resold tickets reaching five figures, the clear money-grabbing model of dynamic pricing, the unethical ticket touts pouncing on speculative tickets or the debacle surrounding Ticketmaster’s incompetence, the whole system is embarrassing.

That is why Twickets recognised that a reselling platform can exist without the need to rip off fans. Starting in 2011, the company supports the most loyal music fanbases because why should they get stung by eye-wateringly high fees? Their commitment to fans was evident when capping the transactional fees on the site in response to the exceptional demand for the Oasis tour, and that fee cap comes in at £25 per ticket.

GigPig spoke to the founder, Richard Davies, about the ethos behind the company and if that has changed over the past 13 years. He said: “We have the fans at heart, which is why we are in the business.

“That ethos hasn't changed at all because we were sick and tired of the secondary market, the Viagogo’s and the StubHub's of this world, who are still going today, unfortunately, were platforms for profit. We were sick of missing out on gigs, so we decided to do something about it and build our platform.

“We came into it as fans, not because we're part of the industry, but as fans.”

It’s that ethos that needs to drive all major companies in the industry to ensure a fair and equal sector. This is something that GigPig closely aligns with. Our platform ensures we protect the music ecosystem, providing artists with a free platform to connect with venues and get booked for gigs whilst giving venues access to the largest-growing live music marketplace, which saves them both time and money.

The driving force behind both companies' missions is purely through the love of music, which constantly empowers them to improve the industry. That passion took GigPig and Twickets to create a solution in hopes of a fair and equal industry.

“It’s really important to create a fair and equal industry. We've got to keep fans going to gigs, and we're pricing them out for whatever reason. We're just going to kill the industry if we're not careful,” Richard added.

“The industry has to correct some of these measures and invest in the future. The same way that GigPig is doing it, we're just coming at it from a different angle.

Twickets experienced 60% growth last year, predominantly down to word of mouth and endorsement from their partners, which has seen them work with Ed Sheeran, Arctic Monkeys and the Foo Fighters.

Despite these wins, the public perception surrounding buying concert tickets, whether through resale or not, has plummeted due to the broken ticketing system.

That public confidence is something which Twickets is restoring through its fair and transparent pricing model, and have fully welcomed a 10% ticket resale cap proposed by the Labour Government. After all, that’s why they entered the industry.

The founder said: “My views are the same as the fans - that ticketing is pretty dire. There's no loyalty to a ticketing company. You use them because you're forced to. We don't allow people to sell above face value, but let them sell below face value. That’s important because I know certain resale platforms don't want to undercut their primary tickets in resale, so won't allow this.

“It's only fair that buyers can find a ticket to a show they might not otherwise have been able to afford to attend. If they’re sold above face value, there's less money for them to spend on other shows, merchandise, and drinks at the bar. So people are losing out on the secondary market beyond just the fan, it's also the industry,” Richard concluded. Those effects that touts hold over the industry, are why event owners have widely supported the work of Twickets.

The creation of a fair and equal music industry is vital not just for the fans but for artists and the industry as a whole. While trailblazers like Twickets and GigPig are making significant strides, a collective effort is needed to ensure the long-term sustainability of the sector. By prioritising fairness and equity, the industry can continue to thrive, offering unforgettable experiences to fans while supporting the artists and venues that make live music possible.

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