Legislation Deferred
The UK live music industry anticipated the inclusion of legislation concerning ticket resale price caps in the King’s Speech delivered on May 13. The proposed law would have made it unlawful to resell tickets for more than their face value.
Instead of a formal bill introduction, only draft legislation was presented, potentially delaying enactment into law for as long as three years.
Industry Responses
Tom Kiehl, Chief Executive of UK Music, stated: “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 program and identify alternative opportunities to ensure primary legislation is passed in this year’s Parliamentary session.”
Sarah Slater, Managing Director of Ticketmaster UK, 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.”
Adam Webb, Campaign Manager at FanFair Alliance, commented: “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?”
Political Context
The commitment to introduce a price cap was initially made by the UK Labour government during its 2024 election campaign as part of an effort to eliminate ticket scalping.
Official plans were announced in November 2025 following pressure from the music industry and an open letter signed by artists including Coldplay, Dua Lipa, Radiohead, Sam Fender, Iron Maiden, and Robert Smith. This also comes at a time when live music updates are crucial for fans.
The live fan engagement strategies are also being impacted by these issues.
