LONDON (CelebrityAccess) – Robert Smith. frontman of the iconic band The Cure took action regarding the cost of Ticketmaster’s (TM) fees charged for tickets to the band’s upcoming North American tour. Not allowing his fans to feel the “Burn,” Smith has negotiated refunds with the ticketing giant – tweeting on Wednesday (March 15) he was “sickened as you all are by today’s Ticketmaster fees debacle.”
A flurry of not-so-nice tweets from the lead singer, began on Sunday (March 13) started with his thoughts on the secondary ticket market with the tweet – (Sidenote: He sometimes tweets in all caps):
“ALL THE ‘SECONDARY TICKET MARKET’ SITES SHOWING INSANELY PRICED CURE TICKETS ARE A CON – NOT ONE OF THESE SCAMMERS HAS A GENUINE TICKET FOR SALE – PLEASE DON’T FALL FOR IT – WAIT TO SEE HOW YOU GET ON THROUGH THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION CHANNEL – X.”
That channel is TM’s Verified Fan Sale. He then tweeted on Monday (March 14):
“WE WERE TOLD ‘Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan platform has been used more than 400 times to qualify buyers and reduce the % of tickets on the secondary market.'”
Soon after, Smith’s wrath turned toward TM as he got wind of the cost of the fees being charged to his fans.
He began the tweet party with:
“(WE DIDN’T AGREE TO THE ‘DYNAMIC PRICING’ / ‘PRICE SURGING’ / ‘PLATINUM TICKET’ THING… BECAUSE IT IS ITSELF A BIT OF A SCAM? A SEPARATE CONVERSATION!).” Fans began tweeting in the comments section that the cost of TM’s fees for their concert tickets were at times, more than the ticket cost itself.
My fees were $18 as well. The first viral post about the fees yesterday was someone whose fees were $23 on a $20 ticket which is why they were so mad
— Lesley P (@lezzlemynezzle) March 16, 2023
Ridiculous 😫 pic.twitter.com/vwQIgEbMh9
— ODDREY BARGAS (@TATT2GURL) March 16, 2023
Smith tweeted in response:
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
— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 16, 2023
In addition to numerous screenshots of Smith’s Twitter account by fans showing him the exorbitant cost of the fees, some fans turned their fury towards the singer. One Twitter user commented:
“Are you not directing hate to the wrong place here? TM works for clients. The clients being the promoter and by extension the artists. Clients have the power to say no to dynamic pricing, negotiate fees or simply use an alt. ticket agency. Guess it’s easier to make TM the villain.”
Smith made his fans aware that he was going to have a conversation with those in charge at TM and would let his fans know if he received a “coherent” answer … from the ticketing platform. The tweets got TM’s attention and an answer was indeed received. Yesterday at 7 pm EST, the singer let his legions of fans know refunds were on the way.
“1 OF 2: AFTER FURTHER CONVERSATION, TICKETMASTER HAVE AGREED WITH US THAT MANY OF THE FEES BEING CHARGED ARE UNDULY HIGH, AND AS A GESTURE OF GOODWILL HAVE OFFERED A $10 PER TICKET REFUND TO ALL VERIFIED FAN ACCOUNTS FOR LOWEST TICKET PRICE (‘LTP’) TRANSACTIONS…
“2 OF 2: … AND A $5 PER TICKET REFUND TO ALL VERIFIED FAN ACCOUNTS FOR ALL OTHER TICKET PRICE TRANSACTION, FOR ALL CURE SHOWS AT ALL VENUES; IF YOU ALREADY BOUGHT A TICKET YOU WILL GET AN AUTOMATIC REFUND; ALL TICKETS ON SALE TOMORROW WILL INCUR LOWER FEES.”
The Future of Music Coalition then tweeted their response to TM’s gesture of goodwill. “This is an encouraging precedent, even if it’s no substitute for needed regulation. Artists take heed: when you speak up (with both conviction and nuance), you can make big things possible.”
The goth-rock band’s tour will make 30 stops, kicking off May 10 at Smoothie King Arena in New Orleans.
