Viewpoint: Graham Burns.

Chairman, Association of Secondary Ticket Agents

THERE HAVE BEEN SO MANY false dawns in the debate about secondary ticketing that you could almost hear the yawns from commentators - and indeed the ticketing industry itself - when Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe announced a Department for Culture Media and Sport consultation on the market.

But this time, I and the members of the Association of Secondary Ticket Agents (ASTA) are optimistic that we are in sight of a resolution which could pave the way to a modernisation of the ticketing business which will not only benefit music fans and event-goers, but also the event industry itself.

There are three main reasons to believe that this time a breakthrough might be possible:

* The decision by the Concert Promoters' Association (CPA) to launch its own secondary ticketing platform.

The CPA has long been the sworn enemy of the secondary market, but now even the CPA's Rob Ballantine acknowledges "the secondary market is here to stay". Recognising the realities of the changing market place has to be key to dealing with them. We don't yet know enough to say how effective a platform OfficialBoxOffice.com will be, but the fact they have done it at all speaks volumes about how the debate has moved on.

* The furore from Bruce Springsteen and his fans over the links between primary ticket seller Ticketmaster and its US secondary business TicketsNow has cast a welcome spotlight on the worrying lack of transparency in the way some primary sellers have attempted to co-opt the secondary market for their own ends. US music fans have made it plain that they consider this unacceptable and have put down a line in the sand which we should all take note of.