Olivia Dean has called the concert ticketing business “exploitative” and rife with “inequality” after winning partial refunds for her fans from Ticketmaster and AXS.
The star's comments come after some resale tickets for her North American tour were worth more than 14 times their original face value, with prices topping $1,000 (£750).
Last week, the star wrote an open letter to ticketing companies, calling the practice “disgusting” and “disgusting” and calling on the company to “do better.”
Ticketmaster announced Wednesday that it will cap future resale prices for Dean's tour and is in the process of “refunding to fans any markup they have already paid to resellers on Ticketmaster.”
“We share Olivia’s desire to keep live music accessible and provide fans with better access to affordable tickets,” said Michael Rapino, CEO of Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation Entertainment.
“While we cannot demand that other marketplaces respect artists' resale preferences, we echo Olivia's call to 'do better' and have taken steps to lead by example.”
The singer made her Pyramid Stage debut at Glastonbury last year wearing a T-shirt with her grandmother's portrait on it. [BBC]
Dean, who has emerged as one of this year's biggest stars with four songs simultaneously in the UK top 20, responded to Ticketmaster's announcement by calling on the music industry to ensure live music remains “accessible to everyone”.
She wrote on Instagram: “The secondary ticket market is an exploitative and unregulated space and we as an industry have a responsibility to protect people and our communities.
“Every artist and their team should be given the opportunity to limit resale at face value in advance. [tickets going] for sale to keep the live music space accessible to everyone.
“Thank you for your patience and I look forward to seeing all of you real people on the show.”
Ticketmaster and AXS do give artists the ability to cap ticket resale prices, as Hayley Williams and Chappell Roan recently did, but it appears that this option didn't take effect when Dean's tour initially went on sale.
In Great Britain the government recently confirmed plans prohibit the resale of tickets to concerts, theatre, comedy, sporting and other live events for more than their original cost.
The move comes after an open letter from some of the biggest musicians, including Coldplay and Dua Lipa, calling on the Prime Minister to cut the “extortionate and harmful” prices being charged to some fans.
They said the move would “restore faith in the ticketing system” and “help democratize public access to the arts.”
“Criminals steal from fans”
Dean echoed those sentiments in a second message Thursday night.
“We take everything we do very seriously, but life is a sacred space that we have been creating for over 10 years,” she wrote.
“We lose money on almost every show, but we truly believe this is a worthy investment that will allow people to connect and lose themselves for an hour. We always do our best to make these places safe and accessible for everyone.
“They steal from artists and fans. They create inequality and hysteria.
“Limiting resale at face value is your right and we have a responsibility to encourage a fair resale market.
“We are often made to feel like we have no choice, but there is always the option to ask why, and you always have the right to say no!
“It’s not every day you feel heard and understood,” she concluded, “so today is a good day.”
