Become a ticketing partner for the sale of theater tickets. Ticket sales regulations

On June 27, deputies of the State Duma adopted in the third - final - reading a bill aimed at combating ticket dealers, as well as regulating the rules for the return and sale of tickets for cultural and entertainment events. The law on combating the so-called "ticket mafia" should come into force on September 1, 2019.

What is this “ticket mafia” law and what tickets does it refer to?

In the first reading, the draft law "On Amendments to the Law of the Russian Federation" Fundamentals of Legislation of the Russian Federation on Culture "" was considered by the deputies of the State Duma on January 15, 2019. The document regulates the rules for the purchase, sale and return of tickets to museums, theaters, circuses, concerts. It also applies to subscriptions and the sale of excursion vouchers to exhibitions, entertainment, cultural and educational or theatrical and entertainment events. We are talking about both paper tickets purchased at the box office and electronic ones.

In the course of consideration, fines for resale of tickets were removed from the original version, and the procedure for their return was more clearly spelled out.

Who can sell tickets?

According to the text of the law, the sale of tickets may also be carried out by an authorized organization with which a theater, museum, circus, concert company, musical or dance group, etc., concludes an agreement. Similar requirements apply to individual entrepreneurs. The document also states that the organization has the right to allow an authorized person to transfer, under an agreement, to another person the rights and obligations for the sale of tickets, season tickets and excursion vouchers for entertainment events. The transfer of rights and obligations is carried out in accordance with civil law.

The law prohibits the sale of tickets with a surcharge, but allows you to charge fees for additional services, such as booking or delivery. The amount of this fee must be less than 10 percent of the ticket price, "unless otherwise provided by an agreement concluded by the performing arts organization or museum with an authorized person", as noted in the document.

Will the buyer be able to sell the ticket he has bought earlier?

In the first version of the bill, even for a one-time resale of a ticket by an unauthorized person, it was proposed to introduce a fine of 300 thousand rubles. By the third reading, this item was removed, and now a person can subsequently sell a ticket bought for himself at a price not higher than the face value. The document notes that we are talking about a one-time sale.

But what about personalized tickets?

Also, the law defines the rules for the sale and use of registered tickets. When buying a personalized ticket, it is imperative to present a passport or other identity document. To a concert, theater, circus or other event, you need to take the document with you and show it at the entrance. You cannot pass with someone else's passport. A citizen will not be allowed into the hall even if there are corrections, blots or errors in his personal data on his personal ticket or subscription.

How will ticket refunds be regulated?

If a person has changed his mind about going to a play, concert or similar event, then ten days before he will be able to return the full cost of the ticket. When the ticket is returned no later than five days - at least half, within five to three days - at least 30%. If less than 72 hours remain before the start of the event, then the cultural institutions have the right to refuse to refund the money for the ticket.

A similar return procedure is provided for season tickets. It is clarified that the first day of the subscription is the first event specified in it. Institutions may not accept refunds for tickets and season tickets (including personalized ones) sold under a promotion or special program.

If the event is canceled due to the fault of the organizer, the buyer can either be offered to visit it at another time, or offer an alternative, or return the money. Refunds of tickets in connection with documented circumstances of illness or death of family members will be carried out in accordance with government regulations.

Outsourcing of cash transactions is a fairly new and not fully mastered type of service on the Russian market. This system appeared as a result of the desire to increase the efficiency of the company, the quality of service, and at the same time reduce its costs. The insufficient number of highly qualified accountants contributed to the introduction of outsourcing to improve the workflow process and the stability of cash transactions.

Our company provides high-quality services for the supervision of document flow and outsourcing of cash transactions.

With us you can be sure that:

• Document flow processes for cash transactions will be optimized.
• Errors in document management and cash register will be completely excluded.
• The costs of maintaining such employees as accountants and cashiers will disappear.
• The risk of receiving fines from the regulatory authorities will be minimized.
• All divisions will turn into a well-coordinated, stable working mechanism.
• Confidentiality of wages will be respected.
• The "transparency" of the company will increase.
• Free time will increase, which can be devoted directly to doing business.

We also provide outsourcing services for cashiers, which will allow you to save time and effort, which are largely spent on finding qualified specialists who can be entrusted with such a responsible business as cash transactions. In addition, it is very convenient if you need to replace an employee during sick leave. There is no longer the need to register him as a staff member for this period.

When your cash register is outsourced, you can rest assured about your business. The specialists of our company will take care of all the difficulties.

By contacting us, you can consult on prices and tariffs, choose the optimal package of services and make sure that quality comes first for us!

"Institutions of culture and art: accounting and taxation", 2006, N 1

There are several hundred theaters in Russia today. Some of them have more than a century of history, and some were created quite recently. Their main purpose is creativity. But the activity of any creative organization is impossible if it does not have accounting and records. The obvious specificity of theatrical organizations predetermines a number of peculiarities of their accounting. This article discusses the issue of accounting for the sale of theater tickets.

According to the Regulation on theater in the Russian Federation (hereinafter - Regulation N 329), approved by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of 03.25.1999 N 329, a theater is an organization whose main activity is the preparation and display of performances, other public performances and the provision of related services. The theater, like any other non-profit organization, has the right to carry out entrepreneurial activities, but only to achieve the goals for which it was created.

Thus, the theater's activities are divided into the main budgetary (non-commercial) and entrepreneurial. In Regulation N 329, the main types of theatrical activities are determined:

• creating and showing performances, organizing tours, concerts, holding creative evenings, festivals and competitions;
• internships by leading masters and theater workers;
• production on orders and contracts with other legal entities and individuals of decoration items for performances, concerts, performances;
• preparation, replication and sale of information and reference publications, copies of video materials and phonograms related to the artistic and creative activities of the theater;
• rental and sale of costumes, equipment, props, props, make-up accessories;
• implementation of related services provided to theater audiences and other activities listed in clause 23 of Regulation N 329.

At the moment, the economic activity of the theater is regulated by a single legislative document - "Fundamentals of the Legislation of the Russian Federation on Culture" N 3612-1 of 09.10.1992 as amended. 2005 year

Ticket forms

Organizations and institutions providing services in the field of culture and art carry out settlements with the population without the use of cash register equipment, however, subject to the issuance of appropriate forms of strict reporting, equated to cash receipts and approved by the Procedure for accounting, storage and destruction of forms of strict reporting. This is stated in the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of March 31, 2005 N 171 "On approval of the Regulation on the implementation of cash settlements and (or) settlements using payment cards without the use of cash registers" (hereinafter - Regulation N 171).

Forms of ticket forms are established by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated February 25, 2000 N 20n "On approval of strict reporting forms" (hereinafter - Order N 20n). However, due to the fact that the Government of the Russian Federation approved Regulation N 171, the requirements for a ticket, as for a strict reporting form, have become stricter in order to bring it as close as possible to a cashier's check. This regulatory document establishes that the forms of strict reporting forms, approved in accordance with the previously effective requirements, can be applied before the approval of the forms of strict reporting in accordance with the new requirements until January 1, 2007.

The ticket form, on the basis of Regulation N 171, must contain the following mandatory details:

• information on the approval of the form of the form;
• name, six-digit number and series;
• form code of the form according to the All-Russian classifier of management documentation;
• the name and code of the organization that issued the form, according to the All-Russian Classifier of Enterprises and Organizations;
• taxpayer identification number;
• type of services;
• unit of measurement for the provision of services;
• value in monetary terms;
• date of settlement;
• the name of the position, the last name, first name and patronymic of the person responsible for the operation and the correctness of its registration, the place for the personal signature, seal (stamp) of the organization (clause 5 of Regulation N 171).

The form must contain information about the manufacturer (abbreviated name, taxpayer identification number, location, order number and year of its execution, circulation) (clause 7 of Regulation N 171).

Please note: during tax audits of cultural institutions, the requirements of tax authorities for strict reporting forms are quite legal, since Regulation N 171 is a valid regulatory document. Therefore, in order to avoid problems, according to the author, the missing information on the theater ticket should be indicated with a stamp developed in the institution - stamp the existing forms of strict accountability and use them until the end of the year.

The Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, by letter dated 13.04.2000 N 01-67 / 16-21, brought the Methodological Instructions on the procedure for recording, storing and destroying strict reporting forms by organizations and institutions of the system of the Ministry of Culture of Russia (hereinafter referred to as the Methodological Instructions) agreed with the Ministry of Finance.

The strict reporting forms approved in accordance with Order No. 20n and Regulation No. 171 are printed by typographic method with the designation of the series and serial number. As a rule, stationary theaters produce sets of tickets according to the number of seats in the auditorium. You can also make letterheads yourself, for example, using a computer. However, it is necessary to observe the numbering and apply a special auto-numbering program, which excludes the possibility of repeating the number.

If an institution of culture and art cooperates with distributors using automated information systems for selling entrance tickets, one should be guided by the Letter of the Ministry of Culture of Russia dated 17.03.2005 N 7-01-16 / 08 "On the peculiarities of the functioning of the ticketing system in the field of culture and art of the Russian Federation" ...

The artistic design of tickets, determination of the nature and content of the information indicated in them, as well as their technical editing, shall be carried out by the institution of culture and art independently.

Control over the safety of strict reporting forms

The management of the institution must ensure strict control over the safety and correct accounting of strict reporting forms. Ticket sets must be kept either in a special storage room or in a safe under lock and key. Responsibility for organizing the storage of tickets and season tickets in accordance with the current legislation is borne by the head of the institution or other employees at his written instructions.

Verification of strict reporting forms kept by officials is carried out simultaneously with an audit of cash in the cash office in accordance with the Procedure for conducting cash transactions in the Russian Federation, approved by Decision of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Russia No. 40 dated September 22, 1993.

Unrealized tickets are written off and destroyed in the manner and terms established for the forms of strict accountability by order of the head of the institution. The backs of strict reporting forms are stored for five years.

The tickets withdrawn from circulation are written off on the basis of an act drawn up by the commission, approved by the head of the institution. In this case, documents (acts) on destruction are attached to this act.

In addition to mandatory inventories of strict reporting forms, it is necessary to carry out sudden control checks of their availability, correctness of filling out and using within the timeframes established by the management of the institution.

The chief accountant must immediately report to the head of the institution about cases of revealed discrepancies or shortages of strict reporting forms for taking measures. This must be done in writing.

Copies of receipts, stubs of strict reporting forms, confirming the amount of cash received, must be stored in an institution in a packed form in an archive or in a warehouse for five years.

Accounting for ticket transactions

The main source of income for theater organizations is from ticket sales for performances. Accounting of tickets, in accordance with the new Instruction on budgetary accounting, approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated February 10, 2006 N 25n, is carried out as follows.

Forms of strict reporting made in the printing house are accepted according to the invoice and invoice of the printing house by the customer's representative by power of attorney. When accepting the produced forms of strict reporting, a full check is carried out: the actual number of forms of strict reporting, their series, numbers according to the data specified in the invoices (receipts, etc.) are compared.

Receipt of strict reporting forms from the printing house is reflected by the institution at the actual purchase price by the following entry:

Debit accounts 2 105 06 340 "Increase in the value of other inventories"

Credit accounts 2 302 22 730 "Increase in accounts payable for the purchase of inventories."

Forms of strict reporting received at the warehouse are recorded on account 2 105 06 340 as other inventories at the actual cost of acquisition and at the same time as forms of strict reporting on off-balance sheet account 03 "Forms of strict reporting in the warehouse" in a conditional estimate: 1 rub. for one form.

To account 03 "Forms of strict reporting" you can enter the following subaccounts:

03-1 "Forms of strict reporting in the warehouse";

03-2 "Forms of strict reporting in the subreport";

03-3 "Forms of strict accountability for implementation";

03-4 "Forms of strict accountability, not sold and subject to destruction".

Analytical accounting of strict reporting forms is kept in the Book of accounting of strict reporting forms (f. 0511819) by types, series and numbers, by places of storage, indicating the date of receipt (issuance) of forms, their quantity and cost, as well as by materially responsible and accountable persons. Based on the data on the income and expense of strict reporting forms, the balance is displayed at the end of the period. Books must be laced and sealed with a wax (mastic) seal, and the number of sheets is certified by the head of the institution.

When issuing forms of strict reporting from the warehouse, the following entry is made at the actual cost of each unit or at the average actual cost (the write-off of inventories should be reflected in the accounting policy of the institution):

Debit accounts 2 401 01 272 "Consumption of inventories"

Credit account 2 105 06 440 "Decrease in the value of other material stocks".

At the same time, the forms of strict reporting are written off from the off-balance sheet account 03-1 "Forms of strict reporting in the warehouse" and are accepted for accounting on the off-balance sheet account 03-2 "Forms of strict reporting in the account".

The person responsible for the implementation of strict reporting forms issues registered strict reporting forms for invoices to the ticket office cashier, non-staff authorized, city theater box offices for sale. The issuance of tickets to authorized ticket sales representatives can only be carried out if there is a work contract concluded between the theater and the authorized representative, and an agreement on full liability. The waybill is issued in two copies - one is issued together with the forms of strict reporting, the second is transferred to the accounting department of the institution.

As a rule, the sale price on ticket blanks is not printed, as it can differ depending on the performance, the time when it is shown, the composition of the actors, therefore the price is affixed immediately before the sale of tickets. In this case, the theater stamp is put on the ticket.

When issuing strict reporting forms to distributors with whom a long-term contract has been concluded, an accounting entry is made using account 0 401 04 130 "Deferred Income" for the amount of ticket sales that is not related to the income of the current reporting period. According to the author, it is advisable to use this account in connection with the phased delivery of services for the display of performances and concerts. The accounting entry will look like this:

Debit

Credit

Stamped and registered forms of strict reporting, when transferred for sale, are debited from off-balance sheet account 03-2 "Forms of strict reporting in the subreport". At the same time, an entry is made on the off-balance sheet account 03-3 "Forms of strict reporting for sales".

Officials are accountable for the received and used forms of strict reporting with receipt stubs, copies of cash registers and cash reports on tear-off tickets on the day the proceeds are handed over. The reports of officials serve as the basis for the posting of proceeds on the receipt warrant.

Non-returnable forms of strict accountability are considered sold and the city box office or a freelance commissioner pays their face value.

Non-standard authorized for the sale of strict accountability forms and ticket cashiers of the institution are obliged, within the time period established by order of the head of the institution, to hand over to the cashier of the institution or transfer to its account the money received for the sold forms of strict accountability.

A summary report on the sale of strict reporting forms for each performance, concert, presentation should be drawn up on the basis of data on the registration of strict reporting forms, invoices for their leave for sale, invoices for the return of unsold strict reporting forms. The summary report must go to the accounting department of the institution for verification and processing no later than the next day after the performance, concert, presentation when they are carried out at the hospital. This report should be accompanied by the spines of the strict reporting forms of the used set in a bound form.

Recognition of the proceeds of the current reporting period from the sale of strict reporting forms is drawn up at the selling price by the entry:

Debit accounts 2 401 04 130 "Deferred income from market sales of finished products, works, services"

Credit accounts 2 401 01 130 "Income from market sales of finished products, works, services".

Receipt of proceeds from the sale of tickets is reflected by the entry:

Debit accounts 2 201 01 510 "Receipt of funds of the institution to bank accounts" or

Debit accounts 2 201 04 510 "Cash receipts"

Credit accounts 2 205 03 660 "Decrease in receivables on income from market sales of goods, works, services."

When using the electronic form for the sale of strict reporting forms for the amount of sale, the following entry is made:

Debit accounts 2 205 03 560 "Increase in receivables on income from market sales of finished products, works, services"

Credit accounts 2 401 01 130 "Income from market sales of goods, works, services".

Return of unrealized forms

The return of unrealized forms of strict reporting is drawn up with an invoice and reflected at the selling price using the "red storno" method:

Debit accounts 2 205 03 560 "Increase in receivables on income from market sales of finished products, works, services"

Credit accounts 2 401 04 130 "Deferred income from market sales of finished products, works, services".

Correction by the "red reversal" method is drawn up by the Help (f. 0504833), in which it is necessary to make a reference to the number and date of the corrected Journal of operations, as well as justify the introduction of corrections. The return of unrealized forms of strict reporting is reflected by a write-off from the off-balance sheet account 03-3 "Forms of strict reporting for sales" and an entry on the off-balance sheet account 03-4 "Forms of strict reporting unrealized". Unrealized forms of strict reporting are indicated in the Act on writing off the forms of strict reporting (f. 0504816). On its basis, within the time period established by the order of the head of the institution, the forms of strict reporting are destroyed and debited from the off-balance sheet account 03-4 "Forms of strict reporting unrealized".

Let's consider the accounting of ticket sales using an example.

Example. The theater purchased 10,000 tickets from the printing house. The cost of the order was 15,000 rubles, VAT is not charged. After registration, 300 tickets were duly handed over to the theater box office for sale. The price of one ticket to the performance is 200 rubles. 270 tickets were sold, unsold tickets were returned to the theater's accounting department.

The accountant reflected the transactions as follows.

S. Guliyeva

Journal Expert

"Budgetary organizations:

accounting and taxation "

In the staffing table there is a ticket office in the state on labor contracts, the head of the department is a cashier. If you outsource the organization of the cashier's work, what should you do with employees? reduce?

Answer

The ticket mafia, which appeared in Soviet times, is still in business: as RBC found out, it controls the sale of up to 20% of tickets to the most popular theaters in Moscow, and its turnover is estimated at hundreds of millions of rubles.

Small stage of the Moscow Art Theater. Chekhov (Photo: Vladislav Shatilo / RBC)

On June 23, the Ministry of Culture announced that it had begun developing a bill to tighten the rules for selling tickets to theater and cultural events. The Ministry of Culture does not hide that the main task of the new law is to fight ticket speculators.

This initiative was preceded by a loud scandal surrounding ticket sales at the Moscow Art Theater, one of the most popular theaters in Moscow: almost all the tickets that went on sale at the box office in a matter of minutes were at the dealers.

"Buffaloes" at the Moscow Art Theater

What happened on the morning of May 6 at the box office of the Moscow Art Theater became public thanks to post user under the nickname Tnargime Rǝnni on Facebook. According to him, supported by a video, on the day of ticket sales for June, for which three premieres of Renata Litvinova's performance "The North Wind" were planned, a huge queue lined up in front of the box office of the Moscow Art Theater.

However, an hour before the ticket office opened, the theater's security guards pushed back the queues at the head of the entrance and let in a group of people who looked more like regulars at sports arenas. They went in first and bought almost all the tickets for the premieres, although according to the rules two tickets were sold to one person.

On the same day, tickets for three performances "The North Wind" appeared on the websites of dealers at prices ranging from 9,000 to 27,000 rubles. (face value - 2.5-5 thousand rubles). In social networks, they expressed confidence that such a situation was impossible without the assistance of the theater management.

Artistic director of the Moscow Art Theater, Oleg Tabakov, linked the incident in the queue with the "stable interest of the audience" in the theater.

People's Artist of Russia Yuri Stoyanov told RBC that the theater cannot be blamed. “What are your complaints about the theater, where are the three grandmothers-ushers? Is it they, or what, should go out into the street to fight these men, these buffaloes who cover the purchase of tickets? That is, from a human point of view, [what happened] is sheer disgusting, but from the point of view of the law, it is absolutely legitimate, ”the popular actor believes.

Sergey Volter, the first deputy director of Lenkom, agrees with him: “As far as I know, during the days of preliminary ticket sales, Oleg Pavlovich Tabakov comes to the theater early on purpose, because he likes to look at the queue. Therefore, I do not exclude it was some kind of provocation. "

However, there is also a less pleasant point of view for the entire theatrical world on this scandal around a ticket. According to one of the resellers, with whom RBC spoke, the conflict at the Moscow Art Theater is the result of direct competition between dealers working in the gray ticket market.

Who sells tickets

The volume of the Moscow primary ticket market is about 8.5-9 billion rubles. per year - this is the official income of all metropolitan theaters from ticket sales. You can purchase them in several ways. First, in the old fashioned way, directly at the checkout. Another legal channel for selling tickets is the official online ticketing agencies that have agreements with theaters. Buying from them in the overwhelming majority of cases will cost a little more due to the commission they take for their services.

Photo: Mitya Aleshkovsky / TASS

Online sales through official ticket agencies bring theaters about RUB 1.5 billion. The largest "white" ticket seller (about 50% of all online sales) is Ticketland, the legal successor of Moscow Directorate of Theater, Concert and Entertainment Boxes (MDTZK), which has been developing a network of ticket kiosks in the capital for over 90 years. The leaders of the white ticket market also include the agencies Ponominalu.ru, Kassir.ru, Parter.ru and others.

For its services, Ticketland receives 10-12% of the amount of tickets sold and takes another 10% of the service fee from customers. The general director of the company, Vitaly Vinogradov, claims that the service fee is levied only on tickets for the most popular performances. The general director of Parter.ru Elena Glukhovskaya told RBC that when selling tickets, agencies interact with theaters on the Internet through a “single field”: “As soon as a ticket is bought somewhere, it becomes known to the theater itself and its agents, that is the probability of selling the same ticket is reduced to zero. " She noted that the theater may refuse to sell tickets to an agent for a particular performance. As a rule, this happens in cases of top performances, when the theater sells tickets with its own resources.

Finally, when there are no tickets at the box office and at the agencies, they can almost always be found on the websites of "gray" dealers. There they cost several times more than the face value, but there are no problems with visiting the most popular performances in the most popular theaters - the Bolshoi, Moscow Art Theater, Vakhtangov and others. The volume of this sector of the theater tickets trade is not less than "white", and maybe even surpasses it.

Billion for speculators

The resellers of tickets, who then sell them for several denominations, call their business the “secondary ticket market”. Egor Egerev, founder of the Tickets Cloud technological ticket platform, told RBC that the secondary ticket market exists all over the world, but in Europe and America it is transparent and legal. “Whereas in Russia it is worth talking not just about the gray market, but about the black market of dealers. However, now some companies are already working on creating a more transparent secondary market, ”says Yegerev.

In the West, the secondary market for tickets for events is 20-25% of the primary market, estimates the creator of the Eticket4 service Daniil Kruchinin. Thus, if we estimate the primary Moscow ticket market at 8.5-9 billion rubles, then the volume of the secondary ticket market can reach 2 billion rubles. in year.

As a representative of the ticket sales agency Ponominalu.ru told RBC, almost the entire secondary market abroad falls on tickets, which their buyers refuse for one reason or another; there are no professional dealers on it. “In life, situations arise when tickets are bought in advance, but then it turns out that there is no way to go. However, in Moscow theaters, tickets are usually non-exchangeable and non-refundable, and people are happy to sell them even below the purchase price. Such tickets, I think, make up a little less than half of the total volume of the secondary market in the capital. Taking this into account, the market for speculative transactions in Moscow is about 1-1.2 billion rubles. a year, "- said the interlocutor of RBC.

At the same time, with the development of technology, ticket speculators have practically ceased to work directly at the entrance to the theater before performances, offering an “extra ticket” - they sell more than 90% of tickets online.

How legitimate is the theater reseller business?

Mikhail Aleksandrov, partner of the law firm A2, believes that ticket speculators do not violate either criminal or administrative legislation. “I bought it cheaper and sold it more expensive - this is a normal economic process, and there is no punishment for speculation in Russian legislation,” the lawyer said in an interview with RBC.

According to him, the sale of tickets for cultural and entertainment events, including theaters, does not require a license. “Taxes, of course, have to be paid, but this applies to any type of income, and this should already be dealt with by the tax authorities,” Aleksandrov said.

The representative of the Department for Economic Security and Anti-Corruption of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in Moscow also considers the prospects for bringing speculators to justice as vague. “We need to find the victim, he must write a statement that, for example, he was deceived. But all this is rather shaky, ”he told RBC.

Dmitry Yanin, head of the International Confederation of Consumer Societies, believes that consumer legislation is inapplicable in such cases. In his opinion, the massive purchase of tickets is impossible without the participation of the administrations of cultural institutions, and therefore the fight against this phenomenon should go through work with the commercial services of theaters.

Bribes to theaters

Vitaly Vinogradov believes that speculators have two main channels for obtaining tickets. Relatively legal - buying tickets at the theater box office in the very first minutes after the start of official sales and shady - many speculators have their own people in theaters who sell them tickets even before they go on official sale.

RBC spoke with several businessmen who earn money by reselling theater tickets and who did not want to disclose their full names. Vasily is one of the most famous theater ticket speculators in the capital with three decades of experience. Among the friends of his page on the social network there are many representatives of the theatrical world of Moscow. However, he claims that he does not need connections in the theaters, because tickets for resale can be bought at the box office or on the theater's website. “For many top performances, ticket sales are limited to one person - no more than two or four tickets. Therefore, we hire people who take the queue before the opening of the ticket office and buy tickets, ”he said.

Vasily owns several sites where you can always find tickets for sold-out performances. According to him, in addition to the Bolshoi in the sphere of interests of permanent dealers - the Theater. Vakhtangov, Moscow Art Theater named after Chekhov, Mariinsky, Theater of Nations, "Lenkom".

Queue at the box office of the Moscow Art Theater. Chekhov. March 2015 (Photo: Vyacheslav Prokofiev / TASS)

Galina calls her company a "powerful Internet structure", to which the theater administrations transfer a huge part of the tickets.

“Theaters do not give up to 40% of tickets for free sale; this is a reservation for guests, sponsors, employees. And these are good places. They sell us up to half of this armor and at a nominal price. We earn millions by reselling these tickets and do not pay any taxes, ”Galina admits.

The representative of another "gray" ticket site, Anton, like Vasily, works through the box office. “We are trying to buy out the best seats at the box office. There are clients who want to sit there, and they don't care how much it costs, ”he says. The best ones are the center of the parterre, the benoir, the central places of the first rows of the mezzanine and balconies. “Our sales channels are like all online stores,” explained Anton. - The difference between the ticket and the rest of the goods is the deficit and the deadline. We can say that we are buying an option for the right to attend the event with the expiration date indicated on the ticket, and we are trying to sell it. "

The economy of repurchase

As Galina says, no more than 200 thousand rubles are spent on the salaries of employees of her company. per month; you can easily get by with a couple of specialists answering phone calls and one person in charge of the site. The number of couriers delivering tickets to end customers depends on the season and demand. Usually there are up to three couriers on staff. Their earnings directly depend on the number of completed orders, but on average it is 20 thousand rubles. The most significant expense item is the promotion of your services on the Internet. “Advertising in Yandex.Direct costs 300 thousand rubles each. per month. But the client will not come to us otherwise, ”Galina complains.

The amount of bribes for theater workers, according to Galina, depends on the cost of tickets - as a rule, 10% of the nominal price. But this money does not go into the pockets of cashiers or administrators, but for the needs of the theater. “Theaters are budget-funded institutions, and it is not always easy to officially spend expenses, for example, for a banquet. Therefore, unaccounted cash helps them a lot, ”she said.

Vasily's expenses differ in that he has to hire people "in line". The number of "mercenaries" depends on the specific performance, the capacity of the hall, the season, on their own intuition - this is from 15 to 50 people, he says. As a rule, these are students and retirees, each receives 200-500 rubles. “It happens that I myself stand, I even like this process,” Vasily admitted.

According to him, the average mark-up on tickets sold through his Internet sites is 100% of the face value. “We call our mark-up on tickets a booking and delivery service, and we issue a separate check to our customers. And we pay taxes on this amount, ”emphasizes Vasily. The turnover of his business averages 2.5 million rubles. per month, profit - about 1.5 million.

Anton says that the markup to the face value of a ticket on his website can go up to two, three times or more; the monthly turnover of the site exceeds 2 million rubles, the profit is 1.3 million.

Crisis for speculators

Vasily recalls the 80s and 90s almost with pleasure: then, he says, the ticket mafia really existed. The income was unimaginable, strangers were not allowed into this area, it was protected by the underworld, in conflicts it came to shooting. But things have changed a lot since then, he says. “Nowadays many people live with the performances of 25 years ago, when all the speculators paid tribute to the organized criminal group. But this is a myth, the ticket mafia no longer exists. Each firm, each broker works autonomously and does not collude with anyone, ”assures Vasily. According to him, 100-120 dealers are currently working in Moscow.

“Previously, at least 50 people worked at the Bolshoi Theater alone. Plus there were people selling tickets to the State Kremlin Palace, Lenkom, the Rossiya cinema and concert hall, and sports events. There was a clear division by sites: the dealers who worked at the Bolshoi were not involved in other theaters, and vice versa, - says the interlocutor of RBC. - Now there is no such division, speculators work on all sites at once.

According to Vasily, in the first half of this decade there was an upturn in his business - a stable growth of sales by 50-60% per year. The growing interest in the theater contributed to the growth of competition among dealers, the number of sites with expensive scarce tickets grew. However, the last year or two, according to him, the opposite process has begun.

“The rise in ticket prices and the meager repertoire of many top theaters have led to a drop in audience interest. Accordingly, the demand for tickets among speculators has become much more modest, ”Vasily said.

“The inability to park and the crazy traffic jams discourage people from visiting the theater spontaneously,” adds Anton.

Nevertheless, Vasily still has something to boast about. Only at one June show of the play "Another's Wife and Husband Under the Bed" at the Theater. Vakhtangov, his earnings amounted to 150 thousand rubles. “I took 80 tickets for this performance for 1-1.6 thousand rubles. and sold over the Internet for 3-3.5 thousand, - he says. - Of course, there is always a risk that you will not be able to throw off all the tickets you have bought, but you still won’t be left behind. Earnings less than 50 thousand rubles. we do not have one performance ”.

According to Vasily, speculators buy 15% of all tickets for performances in the Bolshoi, in Lenkom and the Moscow Art Theater. Chekhov - 20%, at the Theater of Nations and the Theater. Vakhtangov - 10-15% each.

The scandal around the Moscow Art Theater. Chekhov, he said, had already led to a loss of income. Vasily believes that on that day at the box office one group of speculators simply pushed another. “People who specialize in reselling tickets for sporting events, the so-called athletes, came and simply pushed competitors out of the queue,” Vasily told RBC.

"Golden" "Nutcracker"

Theatrical professionals agree that resellers' income is still significant and that a lot of tickets pass through their hands. According to the director of the Bolshoi Theater Vladimir Urin, resellers earned about € 1 million at New Year's shows of the famous Nutcracker. At a nominal ticket price of 13-15 thousand rubles. from speculators they cost 80 thousand.

Photo: Stas Vladimirov / Kommersant

“We sell almost all tickets through our website,” Sergei Volter told RBC. - And although there are also certain restrictions on the number of tickets sold, we have no opportunity to fight speculators. For our top performances on the websites of dealers, not even 15-20, but up to 40% of tickets are traded. "

Tickets for the performances of "Lenkom", "Workshop of Peter Fomenko", Theater. Vakhtangov on the websites of speculators cost from 5 thousand to 15 thousand rubles. with a par value from 300 to 8 thousand rubles.

Director of the Theater of Nations Maria Revyakina, talking about the mark-ups of dealers, cited the play "A Clockwork Orange" as an example: a ticket for it at the theater box office costs 1.5 thousand rubles, and for speculators - 7 thousand. In December 2016, for a production of the play Anton Chekhov's "Ivanov" at a nominal ticket price of 8 thousand rubles. their cost on the websites of speculators reached 32 thousand. According to the theater administration, each performance brought speculators 1.5-2 million rubles.

Exchange for their

To act as efficiently as possible, resellers have created the Association of Ticket Market Participants (AUBR). Now it includes 74 members, who are obliged to adhere to the main two rules: to trade only in genuine tickets and to be members of the special internal Internet ticket exchange market.zriteli.ru. Members of the association post there information about the available tickets and their prices. “Previously, in order to find out about the availability of the necessary tickets, speculators called each other, but now the exchange is a civilized form of information exchange,” an AUBR representative told RBC, “about 2.5 thousand tickets pass through it a month.”

True, the representative of the association admits that although all its members sell genuine tickets, some stick the cost on them and cover up the inscription "inconvenient place".

“Yes, we often glue the prices on tickets, especially when the markup is big,” Anton admitted in a conversation with RBC. - And only in order not to embarrass clients, because they, in fact, do not care whether they have a paper ticket or an electronic one and what is indicated on it, the main thing is to get to the theater.

Is it possible to defeat speculation

Anton said that recently he received a call from law enforcement agencies asking where he gets tickets to the Bolshoi Theater.

“They say that some kind of complaint, they say, came to us. But these are the intrigues of competitors, ”Anton thinks. He is sure that he does not violate any laws, therefore it is impossible to bring him to any responsibility.

Meanwhile, the authorities are determined to fill this gap in the legal field. So, the Ministry of Culture is preparing a bill to ban the sale of tickets at a price above par, a source in the ministry told RBC. At the same time, only theaters and agencies that have entered into an official agreement with them will be able to carry out their implementation. All others face a fine - from 3 thousand rubles. for individuals up to 1 million rubles. for legal.

Other ideas are to legally restrict the sale of tickets to one person (now such restrictions are set by the theaters themselves), as well as to introduce personalized tickets, the data on which will be checked against the passport at the entrance to the theater.

However, not all of these proposals are supported in the theatrical community. “Let's imagine that a person comes with a ticket for another name. He will say that he was presented with this ticket. And are we going to have to drive him out, thus arrange a dump at the entrance? " - says Maria Revyakina. She believes that a more effective method is to increase ticket prices at the box office of theaters, because the lower the price, the more delta speculators.

“In Soviet times, speculation was punished, and severely. Today, this business is carried out by the same people who, in Soviet times, sold tickets under the columns of the Bolshoi Theater. And it is not necessary to assume that the gentle strengthening of their responsibility will frighten them, ”says GITIS rector Grigory Zaslavsky.

Vitaly Vinogradov proposes to radically change the system of ticket sales for performances that are in high demand by organizing "ticket auctions". “Brokers could sell good places at auctions, that is, the very ones that speculators are now buying at a nominal price,” he said.

The dealer from the outbid Vasily believes that if the law is passed, those resellers who pay taxes will simply go into the shadows and work as individuals in order to minimize liability.

A theater without speculators around and not a theater at all, he is sure. “In fact, every theater director dreams of speculators. It's cool, prestigious and demonstrates demand! " - says Vasily.