Robert Smith of The Cure has confirmed that the band has cancelled 7,000 tickets found on resale sites in an attempt to combat advertising.
As part of the process of selling out his upcoming North American tour, the frontman refused “platinum” tickets and tickets with a “dynamic price” from Ticketmaster and restricted the transfer of tickets in markets where he was legally allowed to do so, in places such as New York. York, Illinois and Colorado, which have passed laws protecting resellers.
After the band did this, Smith announced tonight (March 31): “Approximately 7,000 tickets for approximately 2,200 bookings have been canceled. These are tickets purchased with fake accounts/posted on secondary resale sites.”
‘IHBT’ #? “Approx 7k tickets across approx 2200 orders have been cancelled. These are tickets acquired with fake accounts / listed on secondary resale sites. TM have identified specific locations from secondary postings” #ShowsOfALostWorld2023
— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 31, 2023
Earlier today, he also warned ticket buyers against trying to circumvent ticket transfer rules.
“THE OFFER TO SELL/SEND ACCOUNT LOGIN DETAILS TO CIRCUMVENT TM TRANSFER RESTRICTIONS… ANY/ALL TICKETS RECEIVED IN THIS WAY WILL BE CANCELLED AND THE ORIGINAL FEES PAID FOR THESE TICKETS WILL NOT BE REFUNDED,” Smith added.
“…THE INITIAL FEES PAID FOR THESE TICKETS WILL BE TRANSFERRED TO AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, AND THE TICKETS THEMSELVES WILL BE RESOLD TO FANS.”
2 OF 2
…ORIGINAL FEES PAID ON THOSE TICKETS WILL BE DONATED TO @amnesty AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, AND THE TICKETS THEMSELVES WILL BE RESOLD TO FANS #ShowsOfALostWorld23— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 31, 2023
In recent weeks, the Cure singer has held Ticketmaster accountable for “unreasonably high” ticket fees for his band’s upcoming North American tour. Some fans claimed that Ticketmaster’s fees, including service fees, service fees, and order processing fees, exceeded the price of actual tickets.
Earlier this month, Smith persuaded Ticketmaster to pay a small refund to verified ticket buyers for “unreasonably high” service fees.
He tweeted on March 16 after launching The Cure’s US tour: “After further conversation, Ticketmaster agreed with us that many of the fees charged are unreasonably high, and as a gesture of goodwill offered $10 per ticket. refund to all verified fan accounts for transactions with the lowest ticket price (LTP).”
The band has announced a 30-day U.S. tour that is scheduled to begin at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on May 10 and end at Miami-Dade Arena in Florida on July 1, earlier this month.
In related news, Neil Young is now weighing in on the current state of the tour following Ticketmaster’s controversy with The Cure.
