Olivia Dean has hit out at ‘disgusting’ ticket companies who are allowing the reselling of tickets at extortionate prices.
The Nice To Each Other hitmaker, 26, took to Instagram on Friday night 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.
Olivia Dean has hit out at ‘disgusting’ ticketing companies amid reselling scandal as she warned fans of scams in an Instagram statement on Friday (pictured in July)
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 on Wednesday (pictured this week)
‘The prices at which you’re allowing tickets to be re-sold is vile and completely against our wishes.
‘Live music should be affordable and accessible and we need to find a new way of making that possible. BE BETTER’.
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.’
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.
We have also contacted Live Nation and AEG Presents for comment.
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 on Wednesday.
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, announced on Wednesday, make it illegal to resell tickets for live events above original cost.
As per the Gov UK website ‘this will be defined in legislation as the original ticket price plus unavoidable fees, including service charges
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’
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.
Stars including Dua Lipa have urged the Government to honour the pledge to cap resale prices
‘Service fees charged by resale platforms will be capped to prevent the price limit being undermined.
‘Resale platforms will have a legal duty to monitor and enforce compliance with the price cap.
‘Individuals will be banned from reselling more tickets than they were entitled to buy in the initial ticket sale.’
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.
In a statement the firm said: ‘Live Nation fully supports the UK Government’s plan to ban ticket resale above face value.
‘Ticketmaster already limits all resale in the UK to face value prices and this is another major step forward for fans, cracking down on exploitative touting to help keep live events accessible. We encourage others around the world to adopt similar fan-first policies.’
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