Twickets, which bills itself as the largest fan-to-fan secure ticket trading platform (with prices capped at face value plus booking fees), is set to launch in the United States.
Currently, Twicketsusa.com has an email entry form inviting users to enter their email address to receive word when the launch occurs. Amplify reports that fans in New York state would be able to register for the service beginning Thursday. The service originated in the United Kingdom in 2015 and previously expanded to Australia.
It “was set up to counter the growth in the secondary ticketing market in the U.K. several years ago to provide an alternative for genuine fans who really genuinely couldn’t make a show. So to find another buyer, get their money back, and insure another fan attended in their place,” Founder Richard Davies told Amplify. “The seller sells for free through our system and the buyer pays a 10% booking fee on top of the eventual ticket price.”
Ed Sheeran and other artists like Adele and Mumford & Sons have been vocal proponents of the service. Earlier this week, Sheeran’s management announced draconian restrictions on those who score tickets to see him on his 2018 UK stadium tour related to the platform. According to the BBC, fans may be required to have as many as four identifying items to gain entry an Ed Sheeran show.
“On all the stadium dates, you will be required to bring your tickets, booking confirmation and credit card, plus a valid form of ID or you will not be granted entry to the show,” per a statement from Sheeran’s management, which is requiring all ticket resale to take place exclusively through Twickets in an effort to combat scalping.
What the new market will do to secondary ticketing operations in the United States is unclear. Twickets relies on individuals holding tickets potentially worth far more in the open market than the face value they were sold at being willing to part with them at the original price. Artists can attempt to go the Sheeran route and lock ticket buyers into the capped exchange, but some states have laws that would make such a restriction on a ticket purchaser illegal.
