Major ticket operators are unhappy with the new rules of the Pushkin Card program

Major ticket operators are unhappy with the new rules of the Pushkin Card program. According to them, ticket operators and institutions are required to enter into agreements with VK (MOEX: VKCO), post them publicly and transfer sales data to the company. If the operator does not comply with the requirements, he is disconnected from the program. The companies say that the rules were adopted without discussion with the industry, and the innovations require improvement: the necessary information systems are not yet ready, and the working conditions carry serious risks. At the same time, experts admit that “the market has long been in need of regulation,” and for the program itself, the consolidation of control in the hands of VK may be a rather positive factor.

Kommersant interviewed ticket operators about the new rules that govern the Pushkin Card program. The corresponding government decree was published on February 22. Initially, the draft document named the VK holding as a “single ticket operator” (see “Kommersant” dated June 26, 2023). According to the final version of the resolution, it is assigned the role of a provider of “trusted information systems” on a free basis.

The document states that VK systems will provide the “technological ability” to distribute and pay for tickets, including with their help, access to information about tickets available for sale, hall layouts, and cultural organizations will be provided. Cultural institutions and ticket operators need to enter into an agreement with VK and place it in the public domain. In addition, the company organizes monitoring of information about violations and abuses within the framework of the use of the Pushkin Card. In case of violation of the rules, the institution or operator is disconnected from the program.

“We are still studying the document, but it is worth noting that it was adopted without discussion with industry participants. To effectively implement requirements without compromising business processes, a dialogue with all market participants and rational setting of deadlines for their implementation is required,” emphasizes Yandex Poster. MTS Live is also “studying the resolution” and “is interested in a joint discussion of the entire industry, since innovations require technical and legal refinement.” The Ministry of Digital Development and the Ministry of Culture did not respond to Kommersant’s requests, and VK declined to comment.

A Kommersant source in the ticket market confirmed that “the innovations were not discussed with anyone,” and failure to comply with the new requirements risks being disconnected from the program: “At the same time, now no one, including VK, is technically ready to comply with the requirements. There are no contracts, there is no approved and prescribed procedure for data transfer.” “In fact, tomorrow we could simply be completely disconnected, because not a single ticket operator, not a single system meets the requirements that are specified in the document. And they can only leave VK,” agrees another Kommersant interlocutor at the ticket market.

The editor-in-chief of the Intermedia news agency, Evgeniy Safronov, believes that with the adoption of the resolution, VK “actually becomes the regulator” of that part of the ticket industry that works with the Pushkin Card: “But this can be considered a forced decision – the industry has long been in need of regulation, and so as not to change most of the outdated and contradictory legislation, VK was made into such a quasi-regulator.” The expert adds that VK has a theoretical opportunity to use the new norms to its advantage – for example, to conclude contracts on favorable terms for significant events, and competition will increase for other players.

“I do not rule out that VK will have a full-fledged ticketing platform, but this is just a start, which will allow the company to expand, first of all, its information capabilities and gain access to the database of other operators,” believes Mikhail Shurygin, head of the NCA concert agency. At the same time, in his opinion, VK’s new role in the program does not threaten ticket operators: “The resolution may reduce the number of players, but will primarily allow expanding the event market for the Pushkin Card.”

Alexey Zhabin, Yulia Tishina