The Cure’s Robert Smith has called out Ticketmaster bosses over a “fee debacle”.
After tickets for the rock band’s 30-date tour of North America went up for sale on Wednesday, fans were quick to take to social media to point out that they had been charged additional fees.
Later, Smith posted a series of messages on Twitter in which he insisted he and the band had worked hard for the tour to be “affordable for all fans” and was upset to learn of Ticketmaster’s “dynamic pricing” model.
“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,” he fired. “I HAVE BEEN ASKING HOW THEY ARE JUSTIFIED. IF I GET ANYTHING COHERENT BY WAY OF AN ANSWER I WILL LET YOU ALL KNOW.”
Smith went on to claim he had been “convinced” that Ticketmaster’s verification system could help them “fight” ticket scalpers by making tickets non-transferable or only available for resale at face value.
“WE KNOW IT IS A FAR FROM PERFECT SYSTEM – BUT THE REALITY IS THAT IF THERE AREN’T ENOUGH TICKETS ONSALE, A NUMBER OF FANS ARE GOING TO MISS OUT WHATEVER SYSTEM WE USE; AT LEAST THIS ONE TRIES TO GET TICKETS INTO THE HANDS OF FANS AT A FAIR PRICE…” the 63-year-old continued. “I WILL BE BACK IF I GET ANYTHING SERIOUS ON THE TM FEES… IN THE MEANTIME, I AM COMPELLED TO NOTE DOWN MY OBVIOUS RECURRING ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM THOUGHT… THAT IF NO-ONE BOUGHT FROM SCALPERS… THEN…”
Representatives for Ticketmaster have not yet responded to Smith’s comments.
The Cure’s Shows of a Lost World tour is set to kick off in New Orleans on 10 May.