Secondary ticketing firm Viagogo has won another official ticketing contract - this time to provide premium ticketing services for Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group, which operates theatres and stages shows in London's West End. Currently RUG productions in London include The Sound of Music, Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, and The Phantom Of The Opera.
Viagogo is one of the secondary ticketing outlets that has been working hard to win official ticketing contracts, whether that be by selling premium ticket packages on behalf of promoters, as they will for RUG, or by being the "approved secondary ticket site" for tours and shows. Sometimes they do both, as with their deal with the promoter's of the European leg of Madonna's 'Sticky And Sweet' tour.
Some promoters, of course, are still very anti the resale of tickets to their shows via online auction services like Viagogo and are unwilling to partner with such sites on legit ticketing projects. However, as more promoters do so, it does give the likes of Viagogo more legitimacy in the live music space.
Confirming the RUG deal, Viagogo chief Eric Baker told Billboard: "This allows us to sell some of the best seats which, for various reasons, are not normally available to the general public. The agreement for the first time opens up the UK theatre space to the secondary-ticketing sector".