British musician Ed Sheeran will now work with the same company for his concerts in Mexico, even touting a supposed 'anti-resale' system. 'There is no room for delay or not understanding what has been put in place here... This must be DONE NOW and must be EXECUTED NOW,' demanded the CEO of FunTicket in an email accessed by Aristegui Noticias, in which the ticketing company sought to implement a mechanism to resell tickets and generate profits of at least 700,000 pesos per concert through a 'key seat resale strategy.'
The company is once again under scrutiny after Sheeran's team expressed their goal for ticket sales for his concert in Mexico: 'We are working hard to ensure that tickets reach only genuine fans.' Thus, to move away from the resale that has plagued the industry and Ticketmaster events for years, the British musician will use FunTicket, which is not without controversy and multiple fraud accusations.
'The promoters of Ed Sheeran are committed to combating resale and unethical secondary sales,' adds the statement and explains that the tickets will be nominative, associated with the name of the person who purchased them. Aristegui Noticias consulted directly with the CEO of FunTicket and MusicVibe, Alva Briceño, who responded via email:
'In relation to your questions, I share that for the Loop Tour 2026 in Mexico, both management and we, the event promoters, have established very clear guidelines with the aim of guaranteeing a sales process focused on tickets being available for genuine fans and mitigating resale. Derived from this, the promoter Music Vibe, together with the official ticketing company — which was selected through a rigorous process, prioritizing transparency, efficiency, and user experience — has implemented a robust system that contemplates various measures, among which stand out:
• A single general sale, without presales or early access. • Sale exclusively online; there will be no physical box office or printed tickets. • Issuance of nominative tickets, directly linked to the buyer. • Release of tickets days before the event through the official app. • Tickets with a dynamic code, which must be presented from the app for access; PDFs, screenshots, or prints will not be accepted. • A limit of six tickets per person. • Identity validation on the day of the event, requesting official identification that matches the purchaser's name.'
Additionally, it is important to highlight that service charges have been set at 12.5%, a percentage that represents almost half of what other ticketing companies in Mexico usually charge and that contributes to a more favorable sales scheme for the public. These actions directly respond to our priority of ensuring equitable access to the event, avoiding improper practices in the acquisition and resale of tickets.
In February of last year, Aristegui Noticias published an investigation based on internal documents from FunTicket and MusicVibe, as well as testimonies from multiple sources and information requests, which exposed the existence of an apparent systematic fraud scheme operated by the aforementioned companies. In addition to Ed Sheeran, the ticketing company also has in its event portfolio the Minecraft experience in Mexico City, the Baby Metal tour, and Ricardo Arjona's tours. At that time, an email was sent to Alva Briceño to request a specific stance on these findings, without receiving a response.
The investigation showed that FunTicket and MusicVibe – led by businessman José Luis Alva Briceño – incurred in alleged practices of overselling, resale, and tax evasion during the organization of concerts by artists like Luis Miguel, Travis Scott, and Daddy Yankee in Mexican territory. The scheme included the concealment of the real number of tickets sold from the artists through so-called 'Z Events.' A relevant case is the Luis Miguel tour of 2023 and 2024.
