Concert accidents occur frequently! How should fans protect their rights?
How to avoid returning home disappointed?
The domestic concert market in 2023 can be described as extremely hot. According to the statistics of the China Performance Industry Association, in the first half of this year, there were 193300 commercial performances nationwide, a year-on-year increase of 400.86%; The box office revenue of the performance was 16.793 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 673.49%.
Taking the recently launched Jay Chou Shanghai concert as an example, there is a strong contrast between the number of tickets sold and the over 5 million "want to see" people on the ticketing platform. Not only Jay Chou's concerts, but also many popular singers often sell out their performance tickets instantly when they open for sale.
Singer's Health "Shines Red Light"
With the explosive recovery of concerts and music festivals, many unexpected situations have also emerged.
On September 8th, both Jay Chou and Mayday had thrilling performances.
According to Jay Chou's concert, there was a sudden equipment malfunction that caused the energy ball to not open, and Jay Chou was stuck inside for nearly 20 minutes, suspected of injury; During the talking session of the Mayday Xi'an concert, lead singer Axin appeared holding a blue oxygen bag, causing fans to worry.
On September 10, at the second stage of Jacky Xue's "Exotic Things" Tour in Chengdu, Jacky Xue also suffered from physical distress. He stated at the time that he had a fever of 39 degrees Celsius and had symptoms of tonsillitis, but he still persisted in singing. Later, he stopped halfway because his body was unable to support him.
Perhaps in order to seize the recovering market, many concerts this year often start with three in one city, and even more in first tier cities, such as Jay Chou's Shanghai concert, which has arranged four sessions.
Luo Xueming, Chief Expert of Guangdong Modern City Industrial Technology Research Institute, stated in an interview with China News Agency's Guoshi Express that concert tours are an important opportunity for singers to showcase their musical talents, unique styles, and artistic creations, as well as an important channel for direct interaction between singers and fans.
He also reminded that singers should consider their own health issues during the preparation stage of the concert, determine the suitable tour size and arrangement, and avoid damaging the audience experience due to the low quality of the performance. Attention should also be paid to the management and safety of the concert venue and service facilities by the organizers, ensuring stable concert quality from the source.
Can't you hear or see anyone on site?
In addition to singer health issues, "pillar tickets", "wall tickets", and some performance accidents have also affected the viewing experience of some fans during concerts.
Recently, some fans claimed on social media that they bought tickets for Li Zongsheng's concert but couldn't see one-third of the stage. Afterwards, we communicated with the ticketing website about ticket refunds or seat changes. The ticketing website's customer service was tough, stating that the location arrangement was reasonable.
Previously, some fans bought tickets for their idol Jolin Tsai's concert and only discovered on site that his stand was almost parallel to the large screen on stage, making it difficult to see the image on the screen. Additionally, due to the angle of the stage, it was also impossible to see Jolin Tsai himself. Meanwhile, fans also stated that the 790 yuan ticket purchased by fans belongs to the most expensive area on the stands.
Some people even find it difficult to hear the voices of concert singers. On August 26th, the "Night of Tianhou" concert premiered at the Wuyuanhe Stadium in Haikou, Hainan. Six well-known female singers, including Stefanie Sun, Joey Leung, and Vivian Chou, took turns performing on stage. After the opening, some fans posted on social media expressing disappointment with the on-site effect.
"More than half of the songs can't be heard clearly, the sound effect is very poor, and the fans in the stands are all shouting hard to hear, so the tickets are refunded." Some fans roast on social media.
How to protect rights when encountering "pillar ticket" or "wall root ticket"?
Zhang Ming, a partner and lawyer at Beijing Jingshi Law Firm, stated in an interview with China News Service Guoshi Direct that Article 8 and Article 9 of the Consumer Rights Protection Law stipulate that consumers have the right to be informed and the right to independently choose goods or services. Viewers have the right to know the true situation of the services available for the selected seat when purchasing tickets. If the ticket seller and the organizer have not differentiated the seats with obstructed vision in advance through labeling, price reduction, etc., consumers can reasonably protect their rights based on the Consumer Rights Protection Law.
But Zhang Ming also admitted that the current cost of fan rights protection is too high. Although concert tickets may cost thousands of yuan, from a litigation perspective, the amount is still very small. Litigation itself usually requires hiring a lawyer and a long cycle, with high costs, so few people choose to go to court to protect their rights through litigation. Generally, one can only choose to negotiate, seek help from consumer rights protection organizations, or file complaints with administrative regulatory authorities.
On September 13th, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Ministry of Public Security jointly issued a notice on further strengthening the standardized management of large-scale commercial performance activities and promoting the healthy and orderly development of the performance market. Among them, it is required that the hosting unit of the performance should establish a large-scale performance event ticket refund mechanism, set reasonable tiered refund fee standards, and ensure the legitimate refund rights of ticket buyers.
According to Luo Xueming's analysis, this move will play an important role in protecting consumer rights, further improving the transparency of the concert market, and strengthening supervision of ticketing platforms and performance organizers. Consumers should also increase their awareness of rights protection, choose reasonable ticket purchasing channels, and timely understand the refund policy before purchasing tickets to avoid potential risks.
