Olivia Dean hit out at ‘exploitative and unregulated’ ticket resale sites as she scored a major victory in her campaign against inflated reselling.
The singer, 26, recently criticised Ticketmaster for allowing resale prices to soar far beyond face value for her North American The Art of Loving Tour and warned her fans to be wary of getting scammed.
She directly called out ‘disgusting’ Ticketmaster, Live Nation, and AEG Presents and urged the sites to ‘be better’.
But Olivia has secured a win in her campaign, after both Ticketmaster and AXS agreed to cap future resale prices and refund the difference to those who have already paid above face value.
She wrote on Instagram on Thursday: ‘An update on ticket resale! After many conversations with my team, Ticketmaster and AXS have agreed to refund the difference to anyone who has paid over face value for a ticket and will cap all future resale prices to face value for the North American run of the tour.
‘Every artist and their team should be granted the option to cap resale at face value ahead of on sale, to keep the live music space accessible for all.
Olivia Dean hit out at ‘exploitative and unregulated’ ticket resale sites on Instagram on Thursday as she scored a major victory in her campaign against inflated reselling (Seen last week)
She wrote on Instagram on Thursday: ‘An update on ticket resale! After many conversations with my team, Ticketmaster and AXS have agreed to refund the difference to anyone who has paid over face value for a ticket’
‘The secondary ticket market is an exploitative and unregulated space and we as an industry have a responsibility to protect people and our community.
‘Thank you for your patience and I’m looking forward to seeing all you real humans at the show. STOP THE BOTS.’
On Friday, Olivia took to Instagram as she warned fans about being scammed and assured them her team are looking into the issue over her North American tour dates.
The singer penned: ‘Hello world! I’m sorry that there seems to be an issue with ticket re-selling and pricing. My team are currently looking into it.
‘It is extremely frustrating as the last thing I want is for anyone to be scammed or overcharged for our show.
‘Please be wary of buying tickets in the comment sections as it is most likely a scam’.
Calling out the sites directly, she added: ‘@ticketmaster @livenation @aegpresents you are providing a disgusting service.
In response, Ticketmaster issued a statement as they wrote: ‘We support artists’ ability to set the terms of how their tickets are sold and resold. @OliviaDeano, we will cap resale prices on our site at face value and hope other resale sites will follow.’
The singer, 26, recently criticised Ticketmaster for allowing resale prices to soar far beyond face value for her North American The Art of Loving Tour (Seen earlier this month)
On Friday, Olivia took to Instagram as she warned fans about being scammed and assured them her team are looking into the issue over her North American tour dates
Calling out the sites directly she added: ‘@ticketmaster @livenation @aegpresents you are providing a disgusting service’
Ticketmaster explained to The Daily Mail that resale policies differ around the world, but in the UK Ticketmaster have capped resale to the price originally paid since 2018.
AEG Presents said: ‘As soon as we noticed the price irregularities in the secondary market, we immediately shut down resale for the one Olivia Dean show that was promoted by AEG Presents and ticketed by AXS.
‘We have been vocal in our support of legislation that protects artists and fans alike.’
The Daily Mail also contacted Live Nation for comment at the time.
Olivia’s online rant comes after reselling tickets above face value was outlawed as part of a crackdown on touts and rip-off resale sites passed last week.
The Labour manifesto promised stronger protections to stop consumers being scammed or priced out of events by touts.
Touts frequently use bots to buy tickets in bulk the moment they go on sale, which they can then sell on for huge mark-ups on secondary ticketing websites.
The new rules make it illegal to resell tickets for live events above original cost.
In response, Ticketmaster issued a statement as they wrote: ‘We support artists’ ability to set the terms of how their tickets are sold and resold’
Coldplay, Dua Lipa and Radiohead are among a whole host of huge artists urging the Government to honour the pledge to cap resale prices.
The Cure’s Robert Smith, New Order, Mark Knopfler, Iron Maiden, PJ Harvey and Mercury Prize-winner Sam Fender joined them in signing a statement calling for a cap to ‘restore faith in the ticketing system’ and ‘help democratise public access to the arts’.
Other signatories included the watchdog Which?, FanFair Alliance, O2, the Football Supporters’ Association and organisations representing the music and theatre industries, venues, managers and ticket retailers.
Ticketmaster’s parent company Live Nation Entertainment backed the move.
