The Cure for Ticketmaster? Band says it has secured fee refund for fans.
Before some tickets go on sale Wednesday, the band said on their official website that they intentionally “priced tickets to benefit fans” in order to “block scalpers and limit resale prices.” Tickets on sale cost less than $20.
“Cure has agreed to all ticket prices, and with the exception of a few charity seats at the Hollywood Bowl, there will be no ‘platinum’ or ‘dynamic price’ tickets on this tour. See you there!” They wrote.
However, fans hoping to attend the 30-date “Shows of a Lost World” tour in cities from Boston to Tampa complained online that fair-priced tickets were being inflated after processing and administrative fees were added. are, whose fees often exceed the price of the tickets. himself
A fan Tweeted that a service charge of more than $90 was levied on four tickets worth a total of $80, and described the additional charges as “ridiculous”.
In response to fan outrage, Smith vowed to follow up with the platform, in a series of signature tweets.
“I’m as sick as you all are of today’s Ticketmaster ‘fees’ debacle. To be very clear: the artist has no way to limit them. I’m asking how they are justified,” They Tweeted Wednesday.
“We have finalized all our ticket prices for this upcoming tour,” he said addedTo prevent costs from being “immediately and horribly distorted by resale”.
A day later, Smith came forward with news from Ticketmaster, who said they had agreed to a partial refund.
“After further discussion, Ticketmaster has agreed with us that many of the fees charged are unnecessarily high, and has offered a refund per ticket as a goodwill gesture,” some confirmed. $5 per ticket refund on fan transactions and others. Fans who had already purchased tickets will receive an “automatic refund”. addedwhile future ticket sales will incur lower fees.
Ticketmaster has not commented publicly on the matter and did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Washington Post.
This is an encouraging precedent, even if it is no substitute for necessary regulation. Artists take note: When you communicate (with both conviction and delicacy), you can make new things possible. https://t.co/H1tCZdlaZv
– Future of Music Alliance (@future_of_music) March 16, 2023
Fans of The Cure online welcomed the news.
“My congratulations to you and the band for taking care of your ticket prices … you have offered incredible prices on your tour tickets for our fans and we appreciate it,” said an individual.
“You’re awesome – hope other bands follow in your footsteps!” said one more
Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (DN.J.) Tweeted His support for the results on Thursday. Props to Robert Smith and The Cure for standing up to Ticketmaster’s outrageous fees. Now Congress needs to show the same backbone and finally reform the ticket market.
The latest run comes as Ticketmaster is in hot water in recent months after fans of various artists complained about fees and irregularities.
This problem came to light last year when Taylor Swift fans reported widespread problems. Buying tickets for his “Eras” tour, prompting Ticketmaster to cancel the public sale. Company later Begged for forgivenessStating that a “surprising number of bot attacks” and “unprecedented traffic” to their site caused problems on their website.
Swift called the issue “disturbing”, while in a sign of further bad blood, some of her fans Lawsuit The company has been accused of fraud, misrepresentation and numerous antitrust violations, which Ticketmaster denies.
Fans in Europe also hope to attend the annual event. Eurovision Song Contest They were outraged after reporting technical problems with Ticketmaster earlier this month, which they say left them ticketless.
is under the company Pressure from US regulators To prove that it is providing the best services to fans and artists after consumer groups. Senators from both sides of the aisle accused the company of using its “monopoly” power to dominate the ticketing and live events industry – something the company vehemently denies.
President Biden has also emphasized that he called for a more widespread elimination of “junk fees” during his State of the Union to ensure that “companies stop ripping us off.” ” speech in February.
“I know how unfair it feels when a company overcharges you and gets away with it. Not anymore,” he said, outlining plans for one. Junk Fee Prevention Act. “We will cap service fees on tickets for concerts and sports events and will announce all fees to companies in advance,” he added. “Americans are tired of playing for suckers.”
The company on its official website said Its clients — including venues, sports teams and event promoters — “determine the number of tickets to be sold and set the price,” and service, processing and delivery fees “are determined in cooperation with our clients. “
However, he outlined that sometimes “ticket and fee prices may adjust over time based on demand,” similar to airline and hotel room tickets.
For now, frontman Smith admits the system is “far from perfect.” What else “The reality is … whatever system we use, a lot of fans are going to miss it.”