Ontarians take on Ticketmaster

03 April 2009 - A Canadian state is changing the law to try and make sure gig ticket prices are fairer.

Ontario is leading the charge against big websites like Ticketmaster getting involved in the second hand ticket market.

The company was criticised by Bruce Springsteen earlier this year after it directed fans to Ticketsnow, a secondary website it owns, even though the gig hadn't sold out.

Ontario's politicians say it's unfair for a company that sells tickets direct from the promoter, to also be making money from those events being resold on secondary websites.

The issue is fairness

Speaking exclusively to 6 Music, Ontario's attorney general Chris Bentley explained their concerns: "Ontarians were concerned with the fairness, they want us to look into it and do something about it. It particularly centred around Ticketmaster and a secondary market by the name of Ticketsnow."Bentley told us why it's such a big issue for punters: "One of the frustrations for Ontarians is the fact that the owner can benefit from tickets that appear on the primary market, but they can also derive revenue from tickets that are sold on the secondary market."Ontarians see a fundamental unfairness about the link, this is an issue that really grabs Ontarians as fundamentally unfair.""Fair access for a fair price" -  Chris Bentley, Ontario's Attorney General

"We're determined to obtain fair access for Ontarians for tickets - fair access for a fair price," he continued.

Ticketmaster won't cooperate

"What I asked Ticketmaster to do, and what they have done in other provinces but they wouldn't do it here, was to agree that if they were offering tickets on the primary site, they wouldn’t also be offering them for resale on the secondary market."

The Ontarian Attorney General says people shouldn't be naïve about the seriousness of the fight: "This is an issue that has gripped jurisdictions and politicians throughout North America, it's not going away.

"We are watching and we are determined to get fairness for the people of this province."

And it seems the Ontarians are not alone, as Bentley explains: "Given what I have seen across North America, I don't see this issue going away.

"Whether it's a Leonard Cohen concert, or a Bruce Springsteen concert, or a U2 concert, people are going to be watching and they are going to expect fair access at a fair price."

You can hear more on this issue in theMusic Week this Sunday from 1pm.