Ed Sheeran’s promoter is being sued by ticket reseller Viagogo for allegedly defrauding music fans.
Viagogo claims that Stuart Galbraith’s firm, Kilimanjaro Live, set up fake Viagogo stalls during Mr Sheeran’s 2017 tour where it voided genuine tickets and told fans to buy new ones.
Mr Galbraith described Viagogo’s allegations as “totally false”.
Viagogo’s move is the latest in a long-running feud between artists and their promoters and ticket resellers.
Mr Sheeran himself has been vocal in criticising secondary ticketing sites for snapping up thousands of tickets only to resell them above their face value.
Swiss-based Viagogo filed the lawsuit against Mr Galbraith and Kilimanjaro Live a day before both companies are due to appear in front of the Department for Media, Culture and Sport select committee.
Christopher Miller, head of business development at Viagogo, will face questions from MPs, including about the firm’s conduct.
Last week, the Competition and Markets Authority filed a lawsuit against Viagogo over concerns it is breaking consumer protection law.
The competition watchdog took action against the big four secondary ticket sites last November.
However, while StubHub, Get Me In and Seatwave promised to change their business model, Viagogo failed to make the changes required resulting in the High Court legal action.
At the time, Viagogo failed to respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit.
Mr Galbraith will also appear in front of the select committee alongside Ticketmaster UK’s managing director Andrew Parsons and Wayne Grierson, UK managing director of StubHub.
Mr Galbraith issued a statement describing Viagogo’s allegations as “ludicrous, laughable and most importantly, totally false”.
He said his firm would “defend against this action vigorously and look forward to doing so in court”.
Source: BBC