Cure frontman Robert Smith said he had persuaded Ticketmaster to refund some of the “exorbitant” fees added to tickets for their US tour – in some cases adding up to more than the ticket price.
The 63-year-old singer shared his disappointment with the pricing on Twitter, telling his followers he was “as disgusting as you are” about the extra fee and that he would contact the ticket giant – which is the world’s largest ticket – sales Market – looking for answers.
Using his trademark caps-lock font, he wrote: “I’ve been asking how they prove it. If I get anything coherent through the answers I’ll let you all know.”
british rock bandKnown for hits such as Boys Don’t Cry and Friday I Fall in Love, they keep prices low on tickets – some as low as $20 (£16) – in an attempt to make their existential crisis affordable.
However, shortly after tickets went on sale, fans shared screenshots of Ticketmaster’s shopping baskets, showing different venues charging differently.
One fan paid $16.75 (£13.87) for the service in Massachusetts, while another said they paid $15 (£12.42) for the service in Toronto.
A person who bought a $20 ticket showed various fees — an $11.65 service fee and a $10 facility fee, plus a $5.50 total order processing fee — all adding up to more than the face value of the ticket.
The tickets are being sold as part of Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program, which allows fans to sign up for early sales, preventing tickets from being bought by touts and bots and resold at massive markups.
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After his first tweet on Thursday, Smith gave his fans an update: “After further conversation, Ticketmaster agrees with us that many are overcharging and as a gesture of goodwill, every ticket has been made available to all $10 refund. Verified fans account for lowest ticket price (‘ltp’) deals.”
All fans who bought more expensive tickets will get a $5 per ticket refund for any show on the band’s U.S. tour, he said.
He also said that for those who have already bought tickets, refunds will be automatic and all future ticket sales will be charged a lower fee.
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Smith has previously said the band, which formed in West Sussex in 1978, had chosen to use Ticketmaster to combat “scalping” – a term for traders buying up large numbers of tickets and reselling them at a profit.
He said they declined to participate in the company’s dynamic pricing and Platinum ticket programs because they didn’t want fares “immediately and horribly distorted by resale”.
including musicians Taylor Swift, dragon, bruce springsteen, Paul McCartneyand harry styles Both have used dynamic pricing systems before, which increase fares based on demand.
However, the system faced backlash after individual tickets ended up selling for thousands of dollars.
Taylor Swift
In the US, Ticketmaster is under investigation after its systems were cleaned Overwhelmed by demand for Taylor Swift era tour Last November.
At the time Swift described the situation as “excruciating”, while US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called for a breakup of Ticketmaster and Live Nation, which merged in 2010, claiming they had a “monopoly”. the live music industry.
Sky News has contacted Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation for comment.