The Cure frontman Robert Smith ‘sickened’ over Ticketmaster fees

Robert Smith, lead singer, guitarist, for The Cure, on May 7, 1992 at the California Expo Amphitheater, in Sacramento, California.

The Cure frontman Robert Smith told fans he is “as sickened as you all are” after hearing of Ticketmaster’s additional fees on ticket sales for the band’s upcoming tour.

Smith slammed the ticket company when fans alerted him of the high fees when they tried to score tickets to see the band’s upcoming US tour.

“I am as sickened as you all are by today’s Ticketmaster ‘fees’ debacle,” Smith tweeted Wednesday.

The ticket prices, which started at $20 and reached hundreds of dollars, later doubled in price thanks to the company’s fees.

A fan bought 4 tickets priced at $20 each but paid a final sum of $172 due to a service fee of $46, a $40 facility charge, and a $5 processing fee.


Robert Smith, lead singer, guitarist, for The Cure, on May 7, 1992 at the California Expo Amphitheater, in Sacramento, California.
Robert Smith, lead singer and guitarist for The Cure, on May 7, 1992, at the California Expo Amphitheater, in Sacramento, California.
Getty Images

The rocker noted that while artists cannot “limit” the fees, the debacle has left him seething.

“To be very clear: The artist has no way to limit them. I have been asking how they are justified,” he went on.

“If I get anything coherent by way of answer I will let you all know.”

Tickets to the band’s tour went on sale Wednesday, with the band announcing that tickets would be non-transferable to reduce resale and overpricing on third-party services.


Smith with the Cure.
Smith fought for his fans to get a partial refund after the outrageous fees.
Getty Images

Smith told fans he’d been reassured earlier that day that Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan process would help them “fight the scalpers.”

“We had final say in all our ticket pricing for this upcoming tour, and didn’t want those prices instantly and horribly distorted by resale,” he tweeted to his 213,000 followers on the platform.

Smith’s outrage forced Ticketmaster to agree that fees had been “unduly high” — causing them to issue partial refunds.


Smith performing with The Cure at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, Pilton on June 30, 2019 in Glastonbury, England
Smith performing with The Cure at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, Pilton on June 30, 2019 in Glastonbury, England.
Getty Images

As a “gesture of goodwill,” Smith said the company will refund $10 to anyone who bought the lowest-price tickets.

All others will receive a $5 refund.

“If you already bought a ticket, you will get an automatic refund,” Smith tweeted Thursday. “All tickets on sale tomorrow will incur lower fees.”


TIcketmaster
In November, Ticketmaster canceled the general public sale for Taylor Swift tour tickets after seeing “historically unprecedented” during the presale period.
Shutterstock

It comes as Taylor Swift fans were met with similar issues when purchasing tickets for her upcoming Eras Tour, set to kick off Friday.

The Post confirmed that a group of 25 incensed Swift fans from across the country sued Ticketmaster for fraud and intentional misrepresentation after November’s Eras tour debacle.

Ticketmaster canceled last month’s general public sale of Swift tour tickets after seeing “historically unprecedented” demand at its presale events. Swifties reported website outages and hours-long waits — only to log off empty-handed.

The mega ticket marketplace has apologized — but it’s not enough for these diehard Swifties, who are claiming Ticketmaster “purposefully misled” presale ticket buyers when it “could not satisfy ticket demand.”

The tour is set to kick off in Arizona on Friday and wrap up in Los Angeles in August.



Share This Article