Newly minted Grammy nominee Olivia Dean is making sure her fans get a partial refund from Ticketmaster after they bought tickets for her North American tour.
Dean spoke up for her fans after she realized that Ticketmaster was reselling tickets for the tour at 14 times more than the original value.
This comes after many fans have criticized Ticketmaster for ticket prices and have called on their artists to speak out against the service.
What did Olivia Dean say about her fans being overcharged for tickets?
As she condemned Ticketmaster and the rest of the parties involved in selling the tickets, Dean said the “prices at which you’re allowing tickets to be re-sold is vile and completely against our wishes.”
“Live music should be affordable and accessible and we need to find a new way of making that possible. BE BETTER,” Dean said, per The Hollywood Reporter, adding that Live Nation, Ticketmaster and AEG “are providing a disgusting service.”
In a statement she released on social media on Thursday, Dean said Ticketmaster and AXS will now refund fans who paid more than face value for their ticket.
“Every artist and their team should be granted the option to cap re-sale at face value ahead of on sale, to keep the live music space accessible for all,” Dean wrote. “The secondary ticket market is an exploitative and unregulated space and we as an industry have a responsibility to protect people and our community. Thank you for your patience and I’m looking forward to seeing all you real humans at the show.”
What did Ticketmaster say about making sure fans are not being overcharged?
Ticketmaster released a statement shortly after Dean put the company on blast. Michael Rapino, CEO of Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation Entertainment, said they have heard the complaints and they vow to provide a better service for customers.
“We share Olivia’s desire to keep live music accessible and ensure fans have the best access to affordable tickets,” Rapino said in a statement, per The Hollywood Reporter. “While we can’t require other marketplaces to honor artists’ resale preferences, we echo Olivia’s call to ‘do better’ and have taken steps to lead by example.”