Music fans should not have to wait three years for fair ticket prices

This problem affects millions of ordinary people who work hard all week and want to see their favourite artists performing live.

There is a simple, popular, ready-made solution - legislation that caps resale prices at face value. The Prime Minister promised it in the manifesto. He promised it again in November. Artists from Ed Sheeran to Coldplay have demanded he deliver it urgently at the next King’s Speech - a point made clear by music venues in his own constituency last week, who joined a poster campaign urging the Government to make good on a promise to "put fans first".

So when Downing Street published an open letter to music fans on Friday - the same day local election results were landing - fans and artists were hoping for a firm commitment. What they got instead was a promise to deliver change “as soon as possible,” immediately softened with talk of a “first step” of further consultation.

But we've already had a lengthy consultation. Treading water will mean at least another two to three years of fans being fleeced. It means over half a billion pounds taken out of voters’ pockets while the government works out what it already knows. The evidence is overwhelming, the public support is massive, and the legislation is ready to go. Further delay will only benefit rogue ticket touts and the offshore resale platforms they operate from.

The Prime Minister came to office with a historic mandate and a majority that most politicians would give anything for. The artists who perform in this country’s venues, and the fans who fill them, have been patient. That patience is now exhausted.

Including the ticket touting bill in the King’s Speech requires no new thinking, no new spending, and would speed through Parliament with cross-party support. It is a popular, deliverable promise that would put real money back in the pockets of working people - the very voters the Prime Minister says he is governing for.

The music industry has already spent years working with government to get the detail right. We don’t need more consultation to know that ripping off fans is wrong. We need legislation, and we need it now.

Prime Minister, you said, "as soon as possible". The King’s Speech is your chance to mean it.

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Stuart Galbraith is a British live music promoter to artists like Ed Sheeran, founded Kilimanjaro Live in 2007, and currently serves as CEO of umbrella group KMJ Entertainment.

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