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Ethical ticket exchange Scarlet Mist closes down
By CMU Editorial | Published on Friday 16 September 2011
Online ticket exchange Scarlet Mist, which was launched in 2003 to allow music fans to sell on unwanted gig and festival tickets at face value, has been forced to close down after it turned out that some of its users weren’t as ethical as it was. Although the site’s founders Richard and Olly Marks did not go into specific details, they said in a statement this morning that the decision to close was due to “unacceptably high levels of fraud carried out by a small number of criminals”.
They said that although they had looked into ways of making the site more secure, there were no current options that would ensure they could continue to run it as a free service.
Commenting on the wider ticketing industry, the Marks said: “The close ties between the primary ticket market and the secondary tout market have got closer and closer over the years. The ticket market is a bizarre and strange world, where opaque pricing structures, compulsory handling charges and non-transferable non-refundable sales are all regarded as entirely routine practice”.
They added: “Ticket touting is a mixed blessing; there are many music fans that are willing to pay the prices that they charge. Successive governments have looked at the issue – and Scarlet Mist has given evidence to various working parties and reviews. We do not think it is practical to make touts illegal, but we do think that they should pay tax on their earnings. We have lobbied for this, and we believe that the websites that act as front-ends for high-earning touts should be required to share information with the tax inspectors”.
But Richard and Olly haven’t completely given up, and are now seeking individuals or organisations that could help them get the site up and running again. More information here.
