The Ticket Factory has announced a partnership with Twickets, an ethical ticket reseller that allows genuine fans to buy and sell tickets at face value to events they can no longer attend.

The partnership will ensure that customers and clients are protected against ticket touts and various unreliable secondary ticketing websites.

The Ticket Factory customers are now directed to the Twickets website for sold-out shows; later phases of the partnership will see deeper integration between the websites, with customers selling tickets they can’t use simply by re-listing via their Ticket Factory account.

Leading figures in the music industry have praised the move, including Ian McAndrew, CEO and founder of artist management company Wildlife Entertainment.

“It’s fantastic to see a partnership between a primary agent like The Ticket Factory and Twickets that will further enable genuine fans to see the artists they love without paying above face value for a ticket,” McAndrew said. “It becomes increasingly frustrating when we see our fans being ripped off by ticket touts; this partnership will continue the drive to ensure they are better protected.”

The ticket industry was rocked late last year by consumer watchdog Which?’s damning report on ticket reseller sites.

Stuart Cain, managing director of The Ticket Factory (pictured above with Twicket founder Richard Davies), commented: “I saw an article quoting £24,000 for an £85 Adele ticket with a four-figure booking fee. Not even the toughest of street touts would ever have dreamed of asking such prices. The faceless, online secondary market in its current form is hurting the industry. There’s a blurring of the lines between traditional agents with a growing interest in secondary sites and increasing noise about where these tickets are coming from in the first place. I’m all for an open market, but as things stand there’s only one loser in this – the live gig-goer and they will only take this sort of abuse for so long before turning their back on the industry and then where does it leave us? Live music can’t become the exclusive reserve of the fickle rich. Music should be wild and rebellious and open to all.  It’s the stuff that memories are made of.

“Partnerships like this are the right move for anyone who cares about keeping the industry healthy and making live music open to everyone.

“It’s dead simple. You can’t make the gig? Then sell your ticket to a like-minded fan at a fair price. With Twickets, nobody loses out and nobody gets screwed. That’s got to be the fair way to go. The only people who would disagree are those inside and outside of the industry that are exploiting fans and they deserve to be exposed.”