Live Nation embroiled in secondary ticketing scandal in Italy

Live Nation has become embroiled in a ticketing scandal in Italy, after the promoter admitted directly providing tickets to the resale website Viagogo. An undercover report on the TV show Le Iene, which featured an anonymous employee who explained how tickets made their way onto such sites, prompted MD of Live Nation Italy, Roberto De Luca, to make the admission that the company carried on the practice, with De Luca saying ""I want to be clear that, to your question if Live Nation issued tickets on secondary sites and I answered no… in fact we issue some tickets. A very limited number of tickets on other sites, in this case [on] Viagogo" 

Italy’s culture minister, Dario Franceschini, has now tabled an amendment to the 2017 Budget legislation which, if passed, would provide for fines of €30,000–€180,000 for the sale of tickets by anyone but the event’s promoter or authorised resellers. Franceschini called touting an “intolerable phenomenon”, and said “recent events show that self-regulation” – such as that advocated by Prof Waterson in the UK – “is not enough: we need legislative action.” The Italian promoters’ association Assomusica supported the move saying “Our association has always been at the forefront of [putting an end to] touts making money from spoiling cultural events, which promote art and socialisation.” Live Nation have withdrawn from membership of Assomusica.

http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/digital-and-mobile/7573662/live-nation-embroiled-in-italian-secondary-ticketing

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-37985565

http://www.iq-mag.net/2016/11/italian-ticket-touts-fines-180-000-euros/#.WCr8FvmLSM9