Overview
- Hubig, speaking Friday in comments reported by Bild, said she will use national powers to rein in the secondary market and may cap surcharges on resold tickets.
- The push follows an open letter from Pro Musik and the concert industry group BDKV, signed by acts like Die Ärzte and Die Toten Hosen, that proposes a 25% limit on markups, a ban on listing tickets not yet owned, a ban on automated buying bots, and clear platform duties to remove illegal offers.
- Backers of new rules say professional brokers use bots to buy in bulk, then relist at 250% or more, with some posts offering tickets before any exist, which fuels counterfeits and leaves fans turned away at the door.
- Hubig said private person-to-person resales should stay possible and simple, with curbs aimed at commercial speculation that drives prices far above face value.
- Officials and industry groups cite models abroad, including France’s limits on commercial resale, UK transparency rules, the US BOTS Act, and protections in Belgium and Italy, though no draft bill has been published and artists are pressing for a quick proposal with clear enforcement.