The secondary ticketing market has long been a thorny issue for artists and fans alike, but Olivia Dean is pushing back hard. After some resale tickets for her North American tour climbed to more than 14 times their original face value, topping $1,000, the British singer-songwriter publicly called out Ticketmaster and AXS for enabling what she described as an “exploitative and unregulated” system.
Last week, Dean penned an open letter to the ticketing giants, labelling the practice “disgusting” and “vile,” and demanding they “do better.” Her words landed. On Wednesday, Ticketmaster announced it would cap future resale rates for her tour and begin refunding fans who had already paid inflated prices to resellers through their platform. “We share Olivia’s desire to keep live music accessible and ensure fans have the best access to affordable tickets,” said Michael Rapino, CEO of Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation Entertainment. “While we can’t require other marketplaces to honour artists’ resale preferences, we echo Olivia’s call to ‘do better’ and have taken steps to lead by example.”
Dean, who emerged as one of 2024’s biggest breakout stars with four songs charting simultaneously in the UK’s Top 20, didn’t stop there. In a follow-up statement on Instagram, she called on the entire music industry to protect fans and make live music “accessible for all.” She urged artists and their teams to cap resale prices at face value before tickets go on sale, describing touts as thieves who “steal from artists and they steal from fans.” She added that her team loses money on nearly every show but views live performances as a “sacred space” and “worthy investment” to create meaningful connections. “It’s not every day that you feel heard and understood,” she wrote, “so today is a good day.”
While Ticketmaster and AXS do offer resale caps, artists like Hayley Williams and Chappell Roan have used the feature, the option apparently wasn’t applied when Dean’s tour initially went on sale. The controversy arrives as the UK government recently confirmed plans to make it illegal to resell tickets for concerts, theatre, comedy, and sports events above face value. That move followed an open letter from major artists including Coldplay and Dua Lipa, who described inflated resale prices as “extortionate and pernicious.” For Dean, the fight is personal and practical. “Capping resale at face value is your right,” she reminded fellow artists. “It is always your right to say no.”
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