Ticket resale platform Viagogo has highlighted that it is not linked with ticketing platform BookMyShow. The platform has also indicated that it doesn’t determine the prices of tickets and allows sellers to do the same.
This is as per an Indian Express report. The development comes after Ashish Hemrajani, CEO of Big Tree Entertainment Private Limited, the parent of BookMyShow, was recently summoned by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police. Hemrajani was called on allegations of black marketing of Coldplay concert tickets. While Hemrajani skipped the summons, the company’s COO, Anil Makhija, recorded his statement to the police.
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Just to give some context, the connection of Viagogo with the case is related to the fact that it has been alleged that the concert tickets that were originally available at BookMyShow were being resold at an inflated price on Viagogo. For example, a ticket originally priced at Rs 12,500 was being resold at around Rs 3 lakh. Speaking to The Indian Express, the official spokesperson of Viagogo highlighted, “Tickets listed on Viagogo come from a range of sources, including multinational event organizers, corporate ticket holders, season ticket holders, sponsors, and fans who simply can no longer attend an event.”
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Amid the backlash received by BookMyShow with regards to allegations of black marketing of tickets, the company said in a statement that tickets purchased from BookMyShow are the only valid tickets.
The company further stated on X, “BookMyShow has no affiliation with any ticket selling/reselling platforms such as Viagogo and Gigsberg or third party individuals for the purpose of reselling of Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour 2025 in India.”
The company also highlighted that scalping is illegal in India, and it has filed a complaint with the police authorities about the same. Scalping basically refers to buying tickets for an event and then selling them at a higher price.
Regulatory Scrutiny Looms Over Viagogo
As per the company website, Viagogo is a secondary marketplace for tickets to live events. The company website says, “We're the world’s largest secondary marketplace for tickets to live events. Prices are set by sellers and may be below or above face value.”
So, if a user has a ticket to a Coldplay concert, they can sell the same by creating an account and deciding a price based on the demand. This isn’t the first time that complaints have been made against the ticket reselling platform. A complaint was filed against the platform during the ICC World Cup as well when tickets were sold at an inflated price. Additionally, Zomato Live also served notice to the company with regards to the Diljit Dosanjh concert.
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