‘I’m as sickened as you are by Ticketmaster’s fees debacle’: The Cure’s frontman Robert Smith gets ticketing titan to agree to refunds for music fans charged ‘unduly high’ fees for seats amid backlash
- Smith tweeted that he had obtained $10 and $20 refunds for The Cure’s fans
The Cure’s frontman Robert Smith has convinced Ticketmaster to refund some of the eyewatering booking fees the firm charged fans for his US tour – which in some cases added up to more than the price of a ticket.
Smith took to Twitter to tell fans he was ‘as sickened as you all are’ and would contact Ticketmaster following a major backlash to the charges.
He later tweeted to reveal he’d secured $10 (£8) refunds for anyone who’d bought the cheapest tickets, which were priced at $20 (£16), and $5 for everyone else.
‘If you already bought a ticket, you will get an automatic refund,’ he tweeted. ‘All tickets on sale tomorrow will incur lower fees.’
High booking fees have long been a scourge of music fans, and today many took to Twitter to praise Smith for taking action while slamming Ticketmaster for its ‘greed’.
Smith took to Twitter to tell fans he was ‘as sickened as you all are’ and would contact Ticketmaster following a major backlash to the charges
Nigel Carr, editor at Louder Than War, said he hoped the incident would persuade more acts to campaign against excessive fees.
‘Everything is automated, so why are these outrageous fees in place? If more bands took a stand like Robert Smith has it would drive out some of this excessive charging.
‘I would recommend fans take to social media to expose excessive fees, because just writing emails to Ticketmaster isn’t going to do very much. Really shout about it. Tag the acts in and try and get your voice heard.’
The Cure – whose Shows of a Lost World North American tour begins in May – was first alerted to problems with its ticket sales on Wednesday, when fans started sharing screenshots of their Ticketmaster baskets.
Smith took to Twitter to tell fans he was ‘as sickened as you all are’ and would contact Ticketmaster following a major backlash to the charges.
In one case, a fan who bought four $20 (£16.54) tickets ended up paying $172,10 (£142), after service fees, a ‘facility charge’ and another fee for ‘processing’ were added.
A second, who was booking for Phoenix in Arizona, coughed up $72.25 (£59.75) for a ticket with a face value of $20 (£16.54).
Smith slammed the fees in a series of all-caps tweets, writing: ‘I AM AS SICKENED AS YOU ALL ARE BY TODAY’S TICKETMASTER ‘FEES’ DEBACLE. TO BE VERY CLEAR: THE ARTIST HAS NO WAY TO LIMIT THEM.
‘I HAVE BEEN ASKING HOW THEY ARE JUSTIFIED. IF I GET ANYTHING COHERENT BY WAY OF AN ANSWER I WILL LET YOU ALL KNOW. X’
High booking fees have long been a scourge of music fans, and today many took to Twitter to praise Smith for taking action while slamming Ticketmaster for its ‘greed’
He later announced Ticketmaster had agreed to refunds ‘as a gesture of goodwill’.
The site has angered music fans in the past, including in November when it cancelled the general sale for tickets for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour because demand for premium tickets had left ‘insufficient remaining ticket inventory’.
Meanwhile, bosses at the firm have been grilled by US senators for ‘monopolising’ the ticket sale market and pricing children out of concerts.
Ticketmaster has been contacted for comment.
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