The Cure‘s Robert Smith has revealed that after speaking to Ticketmaster regarding the “unduly high” prices for the band’s upcoming US tour, the ticketing system will be issuing small refunds to verified ticket buyers.
Smith announced the news on Thursday night (March 16) through Twitter following the launch of The Cure’s US tour tickets. “After further conversation, Ticketmaster have agreed with us that many of the fees being charged are unduly high, and as a gesture of goodwill have offered a $10 per ticket refund to all verified fan accounts for Lowest Ticket Price (‘LTP’) transactions,” the frontman wrote.
1 OF 2: AFTER FURTHER CONVERSATION, TICKETMASTER HAVE AGREED WITH US THAT MANY OF THE FEES BEING CHARGED ARE UNDULY HIGH, AND AS A GESTURE OF GOODWILL HAVE OFFERED A $10 PER TICKET REFUND TO ALL VERIFIED FAN ACCOUNTS FOR LOWEST TICKET PRICE (‘LTP’) TRANSACTIONS…
— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 16, 2023
He continued, saying that all other ticket price transactions through verified fan accounts will receive a $5 per ticket refund for all Cure shows at all venues. “If you already bought a ticket, you will get an automatic refund; all tickets on sale tomorrow will incur lower fees”.
2 OF 2: …AND A $5 PER TICKET REFUND TO ALL VERIFIED FAN ACCOUNTS FOR ALL OTHER TICKET PRICE TRANSACTIONS, FOR ALL CURE SHOWS AT ALL VENUES; IF YOU ALREADY BOUGHT A TICKET YOU WILL GET AN AUTOMATIC REFUND; ALL TICKETS ON SALE TOMORROW WILL INCUR LOWER FEES
— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 16, 2023
Smith concluded by saying that he will soon let fans know what shows have tickets left for purchase.
This is the latest development in The Cure’s ongoing saga with Ticketmaster, through which the band said they would be able to provide fans with affordable tickets that weren’t “instantly and horribly distorted by resale”.
Earlier this week, Smith shared with fans that the band decided to partner with Ticketmaster for their upcoming North American tour as they believed the platform would be able to combat scalpers and try “to get tickets into the hands of fans at a fair price”.
Yesterday, Smith said he was “sickened” by high Ticketmaster fees after they vowed to keep prices affordable for fans. After the Verified Fan sale went live on Wednesday (March 15), some fans reported that Ticketmaster fees, including service fee, facility charge and order processing fee, exceeded the price of actual tickets.
He said at the time: “To be very clear: the artist has no way to limit them. I have been asking how they are justified. If I get anything coherent by way of an answer I will let you all know.”
