Robert Smith of ‘The Cure’ has gotten Ticketmaster to give fans partial refunds for ticket fees
The frontman fought for fans to receive a partial refund of ticket fees for their upcoming North American tour
Like many bands, The Cure attempted to curtail scalpers by using Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan service in an effort to get tickets into the hands of fans and keep prices low for the upcoming ‘Songs of a Lost World’ North American tour.
But after tickets for Verified Fans and general tickets went on sale this week, fans were surprised to see that Ticketmaster’s added fees doubled the low-ticket prices set by the band.
Robert Smith, the lead singer and guitarist of the English band, took to Twitter to let fans know he was “sickened” by the news and was doing what he could to get Ticketmaster to refund fans.
Ticketmaster website crashing and high fees
Beginning on Tuesday with Verified Fans receiving their codes to get early access to tickets, many fans experienced Ticketmaster’s website crashing, and a number of error codes.
What’s the point of being a “Verified Fan” if Ticketmaster won’t let you buy tickets to The Cure?! Every single seat I picked had an “error”, and and I finally found one and clicked “Confirm Order”, there was another “error”. Investigate Ticketmaster now! pic.twitter.com/RN7zI4c25Y
— Thrillho ✨Buy Me Bonestorm! (@kenyaislove) March 15, 2023
But the real issue many fans experienced was the total ticket price. While The Cure had attempted to keep ticket prices low and reasonable, upon checkout, fans were surprised to see that Ticketmaster had added fees that were often the same price or more than the seats themselves, doubling the total cost.
So @thecure and @RobertSmith wanted to keep ticket prices at a reasonable level for fans on their upcoming North American tour dates. Of course @Ticketmaster absolutely rinsed them with ridiculous extra charges
— Tim Burgess (@Tim_Burgess) March 16, 2023
wtf even is a service fee or a facility charge or processing fee?? pic.twitter.com/jsgspXnifj
Smith came out on Twitter to share in his fans’ outrage at the added fees.
I AM AS SICKENED AS YOU ALL ARE BY TODAY'S TICKETMASTER 'FEES' DEBACLE. 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. X
— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 16, 2023
Ticketmaster to issue partial refunds to Verified Fan ticket purchasers
The day after the Verified Fan sale, Smith returned to Twitter to tell fans he had spoken with Ticketmaster who, according to Smith, agreed that the ticket fees were too high. Smith said that Ticketmaster would be giving a $10 per ticket refund to fans who purchased the lowest-priced tickets, and a $5 per ticket refund to other ticket holders.
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
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
Ticketmaster themselves have not formally said anything about the ticket fees.
When does ‘Songs of a Lost World’ North American tour begin?
The Cure will begin their tour on Wednesday, May 10, 2023 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
From there, they will visit cities throughout the United States and Canada, including three shows in Los Angeles at the Hollywood Bowl from May 23 to 25, and three shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden from June 20 to June 22.
The tour is their first North American tour in seven years since 2016 and will be the first time they have played any live shows in the U.S. since they hosted the Pasadena Daydream festival in 2019.