Singer Olivia Dean slammed Ticketmaster, Live Nation and AEG Presents in an Instagram post Friday after tickets for her upcoming tour were instantly resold at hundreds of dollars more than face value, prompting the ticketing giant to cap resale prices for Dean’s tickets.
Key Facts
- Shortly after tickets for Dean’s tour went on sale Friday, fans posted screenshots to social media showing resale ticket prices reaching exceedingly high levels, with some selling for as much as $800 or $900.
- Dean took aim at Ticketmaster, Live Nation and entertainment company AEG Presents on her Instagram story Friday afternoon, accusing them of “providing a disgusting service.”
- “The prices at which you’re allowing tickets to be re-sold is vile and completely against our wishes,” Dean said, adding live music should be “affordable and accessible and we need to find a new way of making that possible.”
- Ticketmaster reposted Dean’s post to its own Instagram story, stating it would cap the resale ticket prices for her shows at face value, adding it supports “artists’ ability to set the terms of how their tickets are sold and resold.”
- Forbes has reached out to Ticketmaster and Live Nation for comment.
Key Background
Days earlier, Ticketmaster acknowledged it made a “typo” in listing the prices for Dean’s tour presale, with some tickets selling for more than $750. Ticketmaster clarified in a post on X it had meant to list the presale tickets for $53.45, stating people who were charged a higher amount would be immediately refunded for the difference.
How Does Ticketmaster Resale Work?
The ticketing company acknowledges on its website resale ticket prices “may be substantially higher than the original face value printed on the ticket” and that resellers determine the prices they set for tickets on Ticketmaster’s marketplace. The company also offers “Face Value Exchange,” which event organizers can opt in to to cap resale ticket prices at face value. Billie Eilish used this feature for her latest tour, requiring resale tickets to be capped at the price the original purchaser paid for the tickets.
Why Is The FTC Suing Ticketmaster?
The Federal Trade Commission and seven states sued Ticketmaster in September, accusing the ticketing giant of deceiving artists and customers by allowing resellers to mass purchase tickets and resell them for high prices. The FTC accused Ticketmaster of declining to stop ticket scalpers to maximise its own profits, and of hiding added fees to make the tickets seem much cheaper than the price customers are charged at checkout. Weeks later, Ticketmaster said it would make several changes, requiring users to have only one account, which the company will verify using Social Security numbers or other government ID.
It also said it will use AI-powered screening to cancel scalper accounts and will crack down on accounts that exceed ticket resale limits. The company rebuffed many allegations the FTC made in its suit, stating the accusation Ticketmaster colludes with ticket resellers to hike prices is “categorically false,” noting it would make “no economic sense” because ticket resales account for just 3% of Live Nation’s revenue.
Tangent
Dean’s tour kicks off with a European leg in April, followed by North America in July. The singer recently scored a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, and her breakout hit “Man I Need” currently ranks No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Editor’s note (Nov. 23): The headline of this story has been updated to reflect Dean’s comments referred to Ticketmaster, Live Nation and AEG.
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This story was originally published on forbes.com and all figures are in USD.
