GRONINGEN, Netherlands (CelebrityAccess) — Live music professionals across Europe have teamed up to launch the Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing (FEAT), an organization aimed at combating digital ticket scalping.
The organization, which launched at the ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag) conference, will advocate for a trans-national, fan-friendly approach to ticket resales in Europe.
According to Music Business Worldwide, The organization will operate as a non-profit and focus its efforts on the live music sector but will seek to build bridges with other aspects of the industry, including sports and the performing arts.
The organization’s founding members include Spain’s Doctor Music Founder Neo Sala and Germany’s MCT-Agentur CEO Scumeck Sabottka, who will both serve as Directors, and it will be led by Director Sam Shemtob, who also serves on the UK’s All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Ticket Abuse.
The organization will work to encourage legislation at both the national and Union level, and is actively involved with EU parliamentary discussions on secondary ticketing, MBW reported.
FEAT’s founding members include:
Ben Giezenaar – Co-Founder, Greenhouse Talent, Netherlands (Once in a Blue Moon Festival, Justin Bieber)
Christof Huber – Managing Director, Incognito, Switzerland (Imagine Dragons, George Ezra)
Folkert Koopmans – CEO, FKP Scorpio, Germany (Ed Sheeran, Rolling Stones, Foo Fighters)
Kim Worsøe – Director, ICO, Denmark (The 1975, Sam Smith, Disturbed)
Neo Sala – Founder & CEO, Doctor Music, Spain (Adele, Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Doctor Music Festival)
Olivier Darbois – Director, Corida, France (Christine and the Queens, Justice – produced worldwide, Kraftwerk, Radiohead – promoted France)
Pascal Van De Velde – Founder & CEO, Greenhouse Talent, Belgium & Netherlands (Elton John, Katy Perry)
Peter Aiken – Managing Director, Aiken Promotions, Ireland (Bruce Springsteen, Rolling Stones, Ed Sheeran, Adele)
Philippe Cornu – Founder, wildpony, Switzerland (Muse, Rammstein)
Scumeck Sabottka – CEO, MCT-Agentur, Germany (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, Lykke Li, Björk, Rammstein, Florence + the Machine)
Vincent Sager – Managing Director, Opus One, Switzerland (Arcade Fire, Iron Maiden)
Scumeck Sabottka, CEO, MCT-Agentur and FEAT Director said: “We need to get this right as otherwise fans and artists alike will be robbed by thieves; if we all pull this together and get EU legislation to follow our lead, we can ultimately make it work.”
