Robert Smith, lead singer of English rock band The Cure, said Ticketmaster will give partial refunds after some concertgoers were charged more in service fees than the cost of their seats.
Smith said in a tweet Thursday that fans who bought the lowest-priced seats for his band’s US tour will get a refund of $10 per ticket, while others will get $5. The decision came after Ticketmaster “agreed with us that many of the fees being charged are unduly high,” Smith said.
Ticketmaster, a division of concert promoter Live Nation Entertainment Inc., has come under intense scrutiny over the past year for the high price of tickets to see acts like Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift.
The Cure, known for hits such as Friday I’m in Love and Just Like Heaven, tried to avoid ticket scalping by selling seats for as little as $20 and limiting sales to verified fans. After tickets for the US tour went on sale Wednesday, some fans reported paying more in fees than for their seats.
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…
— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 16, 2023
2 OF 2: …AND A $5 PER TICKET REFUND TO ALL VERIFIED FAN ACCOUNTS FOR ALL OTHER TICKET PRICE TRANSACTIONS, 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
— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 16, 2023