Coldplay have announced two new shows in Italy. Fans are rushing to snatch the last few tickets.
After the great success of the June shows in Milan, Coldplay have already announced new dates in Italy for next year: from 12 to 16 July 2024the British group will 4 concerts down to Olympic Stadium in Rome. Tickets went on sale a few days ago and, as happens more and more often, they were sold out instantly. This situation is beginning to worry many fans, and several industry experts have highlighted the structural problem in organizing these events and selling tickets.
In less than an hour, 280,000 tickets disappeared., to then reappear on other sites with price increases that even reached 500%. This resurgence of digital scalping has caught the attention of insiders and authorities alike.
Not so long ago, for example, Olivia Rodrigo concert tickets disappeared in 45 seconds.. This is due to bot, that is, computer programs run by individuals or groups that book thousands of tickets at once. Their goal is to prevent people from buying tickets in the usual way and then reselling them at higher prices.
Digital scalping is getting harder to fight
Those looking for tickets to one of Coldplay’s upcoming performances will find everything sold out on official platforms like TicketOne. If, on the other hand, you are looking for secondary resale siteslike Viagogo Gigsberg, there will be hundreds of tickets available, all at inflated prices.
viagogonotably known in Italy for being repeatedly fined for violating anti-scaling rules. Despite this, the site is still available and Coldplay tickets are available at prices ranging from €400 to €1600 (official ticket prices start at €57.50).
Viagogo defends its position, arguing that it only hosts the offer of tickets and does not own them. However, questions about who actually buys the tickets and how the bots actually work remain unanswered.
online scalping it is a phenomenon that has been going on for many years and which seems impossible to counteract in Italy. It is absurd that this is a harmful practice both for the audience and for the artists themselves. In a statement released to Repubblica, Claudio Trotta, an entertainment entrepreneur and producer, explained that before 20% of seats at a concert may remain empty due to the fact that tickets are not resold by bots.
In conclusion, it is clear that the fight against this phenomenon, unfortunately, is still very long. Of course, the authorities and the music industry can no longer ignore the problem, because there is a risk of undermining one of the fundamental sectors of the music industry.