Annual Report & Financial Statements 2015-16
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ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2015-16 STAR MEMBERS - JUNE 2016 FULL MEMBERS Echo Arena, Liverpool Richmond Theatre Albemarle of London Edinburgh Playhouse Royal Opera House Amazon Tickets Empire Theatre, Liverpool Royal Shakespeare Company ATG Tickets Fortune Theatre St Martin’s Theatre AXS Garrick Theatre Savoy Theatre DICE FM Genting Arena, Birmingham SEC & The SSE Hydro, Glasgow DHP Family Gielgud Theatre Shaftesbury Theatre eLondonTickets Grand Opera House, York Sheffeld Arena Encore Tickets Harold Pinter Theatre Southport Theatre and Convention Centre Eventim UK Her Majesty’s Theatre The SSE Arena, Wembley Flame Concepts King’s Theatre, Glasgow Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough fromtheboxoffce.com Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone Sunderland Empire Gigantic Tickets Live Nation Theatre Royal Brighton Hull UK City of Culture London Coliseum Theatre Royal Drury Lane lastminute.com London Palladium Theatre Royal Glasgow Last Second Tickets The Lowry, Salford Trafalgar Studios Leicester Square Box Offce Lyceum Theatre Vaudeville Theatre London Theatre Bookings Lyric Theatre Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent London Theatre Direct Manchester Opera House Victoria Palace Margo Tickets Manchester Palace Theatre Watford Palace Theatre Quaytickets Milton Keynes Theatre Wyndhams Theatre Ringside World Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff York Theatre Royal See Tickets Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham Theatre Tickets Direct Nederlander Dominion Theatre PRODUCERS Cameron Mackintosh Ticket Arena New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham Disney Theatrical Productions The Ticket Factory New London Theatre ebp Live The Ticket Machine Group New Theatre, Oxford Eleven Arches The Ticket Sellers New Victoria Theatre, Woking Ticketline New Wimbledon Theatre & Studio Ticketmaster UK Newcastle Theatre Royal ORGANISATIONS National Arenas Association Ticket Quarter Nimax Theatres Society of London Theatre TicketSource Noel Coward Theatre UK Theatre Ticket Text Novello Theatre Nuffeld Theatre, Southampton TicketWeb (UK) AFFILIATES TicketZone O2 ABC, Glasgow Abbey Box Offce TodayTix O2 Academy, Birmingham AKA TYG Ltd O2 Academy, Bournemouth Best of Theatre WeGotTickets O2 Academy, Bristol Best Union UK WhatsOnStage O2 Academy, Brixton Booking Protect Wilson Digital Media O2 Academy, Glasgow O2 Academy, Islington Boom Ents PROVISIONAL MEMBERS O2 Academy, Leeds CheapTheatreTickets.com Dewynters Coras O2 Academy, Leicester Front Gate Tickets KX Tickets O2 Academy, Liverpool O2 Academy, Newcastle Get Street Team ASSOCIATE MEMBERS – O2 Academy, Oxford JM Marketing VENUES O2 Academy, Sheffeld Made in 2010 O2 Apollo, Manchester O2 Priority ACC & Echo Arena, Liverpool O2 Forum, Kentish Town SeatPlan Adelphi Theatre O2 Guildhall Southampton Spektrix Aldwych Theatre O2 Institute, Birmingham Squire Patton Boggs Almeida Theatre O2 Ritz, Manchester Theatreland Ambassadors Theatre O2 Shepherds Bush Empire theatremonkey.com Apollo Theatre The Old Vic Theatre TicketPlan Apollo Victoria The Other Palace TopTix UK Arts Club Liverpool Oxford Playhouse Tungate Group Aylesbury Waterside Theatre Palace Theatre Universe Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham Phoenix Theatre Bridge Theatre, London Piccadilly Theatre TRAVEL AFFILIATE Bristol Hippodrome Playhouse Theatre Cambridge Theatre MEMBERS Prince Edward Theatre Big Green Coach/Planet Festival Criterion Theatre Prince of Wales Theatre Hotel Direct Delfont Mackintosh Theatres Princess Theatre, Torquay Scancoming Donmar Warehouse Theatre Queens Theatre Superbreak Duchess Theatre Really Useful Theatres Group Tickettree.com Duke of York’s Theatre Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent PERIOD OF THIS REPORT This report covers the period from November 2015 to October 2016 in line with the Society’s accounting reference date. In the interests of keeping the information enclosed as current as possible, information about the period from November 2016 to June 2017 is also included where relevant. THE PURPOSE OF STAR The Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers, or STAR, was formed in November 1997 by a number of companies and organisations within the ticketing industry to promote high standards of service to consumers and to enhance and promote the public perception of the ticket agents’ industry. The membership of STAR is drawn from the ticketing industry. The administrative functions are carried out by the Council which, together with the Chair of the Council, is elected biennially by the membership of STAR. Day-to- day functions are carried out by the Secretariat, which provides information and advice in relation to STAR and the operation of its Code of Practice. A sub-committee examines all breaches of the Code reported to it and disciplines members where it considers such action necessary, action that potentially including expulsion from STAR in the most serious cases. Appeals in relation to the sub-committee’s decisions are heard by the Council. The membership of this sub-committee is drawn from members of the Council and independent persons, the latter always being in the majority and providing the Chair. Any Council member with a business interest in a case being considered by the sub-committee is not eligible to vote on any matter concerning such a case at a meeting at which it is considered. STAR is funded by annual contributions from its membership. Membership of STAR can be recognised by the use of the organisation’s registered trademark, found on the cover to this report. THE CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT As I write this, we are on the verge of another General Election Consumer protection is core to STAR’s purpose and and in the wake of the dreadful terrorist attacks in London the development of the STAR Code, to update it and to and Manchester. incorporate both legislation and best practice with regard to resale is an important step. It is not a panacea to address all the It was remarkable that the extraordinary One Love Manchester concerns that are expressed around the issue of the secondary concert was delivered as a defant response to the Manchester market, but it would be a move towards helping customers Arena attack within just two weeks. This involved, amidst all distinguish between those that operate legitimately and the other complex planning, intricate ticketing arrangements accountably and those that don’t. We will only ever welcome ensuring that those who had been at the Ariana Grande into STAR membership companies that operate within the law concert on the night of the bombing could access their free and within our Code of Practice. tickets, preventing tickets being resold for proft and weeding out thousands of iniquitous false claims for free tickets. And, on Ticket fraud is an issue that continues. We were therefore very top of that, selling the remainder of the 50,000 tickets just four pleased to co-operate with Action Fraud, Get Safe Online and days before the event took place. Live Nation, Ticketmaster and the City of London Police on a very successful public awareness everyone involved in the event deserve our praise and thanks. campaign to caution customers and guide them towards buying Our thoughts continue to be with everyone affected by the tickets from STAR members. recent attacks. Our attention to improving access to tickets for disabled people Ticketing, I have grown to learn in the past ffteen months since has continued and we are currently working with Martin joining STAR, is a fascinating, if complicated, industry. It is at Austin at Nimbus Disability on a Best Practice Guide that will the heart of the tremendous success of the UK entertainment be published in the very near future. We have also hosted fve business, but also at times a focus for frustration and criticism. Accessible Ticketing workshops since December last year which Between them, our members sell well over 50 million tickets have helped increase people’s knowledge of the issues and point a year and the vast majority of those are delivered to people towards the necessary adjustments. who go on to attend the events they want to see together with family and friends. Sometimes, however, it is the excesses that Our award for Outstanding Customer Service, presented at affect the most sought-after events that dominate the news the Society of Box Offce Managers awards event in April, went headlines and tell a different story. for a second time to WeGotTickets in Oxford. They received a large number of nominations from customers who were also The issue of ticket touting, the numbers of tickets that appear very praiseworthy in their comments. Many congratulations on the secondary market and the methods employed by touts to them. to secure those tickets have featured not only in the news in the past year, but also in debates in Parliament and Select STAR has been underpinning the great customer service Committees. Much of this followed on from the Waterson provided by our members through our dispute resolution Review of the secondary ticket market, published in May 2016. service since STAR was formed, nearly twenty years ago. There is, rightly, indignation that tickets are scooped up in vast We are therefore extremely pleased that we have now numbers when they frst appear on sale, sometimes through the been recognised by the Department for Business, Energy use of automated software. The Government acted on this by and Industrial Strategy as an approved Alternative Dispute making the use of such bots to exceed ticket purchase limits a Resolution provider. This is a signifcant development and means criminal offence in the recent Digital Economy Act. Exactly how that members can