Singer-songwriter Olivia Dean has publicly condemned major ticketing companies for what she describes as a 'disgusting service', after tickets for her North American tour dates appeared on resale sites at extortionate prices.
An Instagram Outburst Against Touting
The 26-year-old 'Nice To Each Other' artist took to Instagram on Friday night to warn her fans about potential scams and express her frustration. She assured her followers that her team was actively investigating the issue surrounding her tour.
In a heartfelt post, Dean wrote, '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.' She emphasised that it was 'extremely frustrating' and that the last thing she wanted was for fans to be scammed or overcharged.
She directly called out the industry giants by name, stating, '@ticketmaster @livenation @aegpresents you are providing a disgusting service.' Dean lambasted the 'vile' prices at which tickets were being resold, stating it was completely against her wishes. She firmly believes that 'live music should be affordable and accessible' and called for a new system to make this possible, ending with a demand for the companies to 'BE BETTER'.
Industry Response and Legal Crackdown
In response to her public criticism, Ticketmaster issued a statement. 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.' The company clarified to The Daily Mail that its policy in the UK has been to cap resale at the original price paid since 2018.
This public row coincides with a significant political development. On Wednesday, the Labour government passed new rules making it illegal to resell tickets for live events above their original face value. This crackdown targets touts and rip-off resale sites that frequently use bots to buy tickets in bulk the moment they go on sale, only to sell them on with huge mark-ups.
The new legislation defines the maximum resale price as the original ticket price plus unavoidable fees. Furthermore, service fees charged by resale platforms will be capped, and the platforms themselves will have a legal duty to enforce the price cap. There will also be a ban on individuals reselling more tickets than they were originally entitled to buy.
A United Front for Fair Ticketing
Olivia Dean is far from alone in this fight. She joins a chorus of major artists who have been urging the government to implement such protections. Stars including Coldplay, Dua Lipa, and Radiohead have backed the move, alongside figures like The Cure's Robert Smith and Sam Fender.
These artists, along with organisations like the FanFair Alliance and O2, signed a statement calling for a cap to 'restore faith in the ticketing system' and 'help democratise public access to the arts'.
In a show of support for the new law, Live Nation Entertainment, Ticketmaster's parent company, released a statement: '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.'
This combination of artist activism and new government regulation marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing battle to make live events more affordable and secure for music fans across the UK.
