Canadian Heritage Committee on May 7th, 2019

Evidence of meeting #156 for Canadian Heritage in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was market.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

Online Secondary Ticket Sales Industry

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Erin Benjamin President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Live Music Association

Jean-Françoys Brousseau President, Outbox Technology Inc.

Philip Vanden Brande Senior Manager, Public and Media Relations, evenko, L'Équipe Spectra

Paul Nowosad General Manager, Canada, StubHub

Laura Dooley Head of Global Government Relations, StubHub

Evelyne Langlois-Paquette Manager, Governmental Affairs, evenko, L'Équipe Spectra

4:55 p.m.

General Manager, Canada, StubHub

Paul Nowosad

That is one of the key questions for us. The transferability of the ticket seems to be something that, we think, is in the best interests of the fans. Transparency concerning how many tickets are available, when and at what price is an area that.... I can't really answer that question, because this information is not always disclosed.

4:55 p.m.

Liberal

Wayne Long Liberal Saint John—Rothesay, NB

Do you condone this? What do you do about it, from StubHub's standpoint? You obviously recognize that it's a problem.

Would you agree that it's a concern?

4:55 p.m.

General Manager, Canada, StubHub

Paul Nowosad

I think the role of the platform is to provide a marketplace for interested buyers who trust our brand, trust our systems and trust our guarantee, and not to control, I guess you could say, the number of tickets available for any individual show or band through gain.

4:55 p.m.

Liberal

Wayne Long Liberal Saint John—Rothesay, NB

Let me just drill down further.

You don't agree, though, do you, that somebody should be allowed to go in and bulk buy in that way?

4:55 p.m.

General Manager, Canada, StubHub

Paul Nowosad

No. Any significant violation of policies on a primary...or the use of bots or any of that technology, we strongly discourage. All terms and conditions of every single purchaser, primary or secondary, should always be upheld.

4:55 p.m.

Liberal

Wayne Long Liberal Saint John—Rothesay, NB

Is there anything you can recommend? What should StubHub do to prevent that?

4:55 p.m.

General Manager, Canada, StubHub

Paul Nowosad

From our point of view, when we discover that bot activity or malfeasance on the side of the seller has been used to secure or acquire tickets that are available on our site, we have hundreds of people on the side of our company who are working on the customer service and bot protection side to remove those tickets and ensure that such sellers are not part of our ecosystem.

4:55 p.m.

Liberal

Wayne Long Liberal Saint John—Rothesay, NB

How often does it happen?

4:55 p.m.

General Manager, Canada, StubHub

Paul Nowosad

I don't know how often it happens. I can tell you that we are vigilant 24 hours a day, both with technology and with individuals.

4:55 p.m.

Liberal

Wayne Long Liberal Saint John—Rothesay, NB

Another question I had is whether StubHub.ca is the same as StubHub.com. If you go to one, is it the same as going to the other?

4:55 p.m.

General Manager, Canada, StubHub

Paul Nowosad

From an inventory perspective, it's a global marketplace.

4:55 p.m.

Liberal

Wayne Long Liberal Saint John—Rothesay, NB

Okay.

Can you just share with me, then, your business model? How does StubHub make money?

4:55 p.m.

General Manager, Canada, StubHub

Paul Nowosad

The business of providing the tickets is similar to that of almost anybody else in the marketplace, primary or secondary. There are fees associated in support of the sale of the ticket and there are fees supported in the purchase of a ticket, and those fees go towards paying for the consumer protection, the overall staffing and the customer service that goes along with providing that service on a global scale.

4:55 p.m.

Liberal

Wayne Long Liberal Saint John—Rothesay, NB

Is it a percentage that you make by ticket price?

4:55 p.m.

General Manager, Canada, StubHub

Paul Nowosad

Based on the dynamic market conditions, it's a percentage.

4:55 p.m.

Liberal

Wayne Long Liberal Saint John—Rothesay, NB

Might I ask what the percentage is?

4:55 p.m.

General Manager, Canada, StubHub

Paul Nowosad

On the sell side, the percentage is 10% of the face value of the tickets being posted.

4:55 p.m.

Liberal

Wayne Long Liberal Saint John—Rothesay, NB

If I have a $70 ticket...?

4:55 p.m.

General Manager, Canada, StubHub

Paul Nowosad

It's easier if you say $100.

4:55 p.m.

Liberal

Wayne Long Liberal Saint John—Rothesay, NB

That's fair. I probably should say $100. If I have a $100 ticket—

4:55 p.m.

General Manager, Canada, StubHub

Paul Nowosad

I can do the $70 math. It's $63 that you would be remitted.

4:55 p.m.

Liberal

Wayne Long Liberal Saint John—Rothesay, NB

Just so that I'm clear, though, on the percentage, is it based on what I want to sell the ticket for?

4:55 p.m.

General Manager, Canada, StubHub

Paul Nowosad

Yes.

4:55 p.m.

Liberal

Wayne Long Liberal Saint John—Rothesay, NB

It's not face value—

4:55 p.m.

General Manager, Canada, StubHub

Paul Nowosad

No. You're choosing to sell the ticket for a price.

We are charging a percentage against that price to provide this service to create access to a buyer's market.