The Cure’s Robert Smith Forces Ticketmaster to Refund Fans

After a string of tweets expressing how “sickened” he was by the exorbitant fees tacked on to tickets over the past week, The Cure‘s Robert Smith has taken action on behalf of fans and has effectively forced Ticketmaster to refund a flat fee from tickets purchased for the band’s upcoming North American tour.

Following complaints over the excessive fees, which can nearly double the cost of lower-priced tickets, the ticketing agent is issuing partial refunds to purchasers in the amount of $5 to $10.

Though the dollar amounts are fairly low, in comparison to the upward of $40 service fees typically added to their ticket prices, it’s an unexpected move by Ticketmaster, which has come under fire recently for their soaring “extra” fees. This incident also follows their recent ticketing debacle around Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, which resulted the cancellation of ticket sales to the public and fans suing the ticketing agent.

“After further conversation, Ticketmaster has 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 transactions,” said Smith on Twitter, updating his fans. “For all fans who bought more expensive tickets, Ticketmaster would issue a $5 refund per ticket for any show on the U.S. tour.”

Smith added that refunds will be automatic for anyone who had already purchased a ticket, while future ticket sales would incur the lower fee.

At the onset of ticket sales for the band’s upcoming 30-date Shows of a Lost World Tour, The Cure was intentionally working to avoid outrageous ticketing prices for fans, which appeared to be out of their control at first.

The band specifically chose to work with Ticketmaster to help combat the scalping of their tickets, but did not want to participate in their dynamic pricing and Platinum ticket structure, which could result in ticket prices being “instantly and horribly distorted by resale,” according to Smith.

Based on demand, the dynamic pricing system can result in individual tickets selling for thousands of dollars.

After fans voiced their grievances and posted shots of their nearly triple-in-price Ticketmaster transactions once tickets for The Cure’s upcoming shows went on sale, Smith tweeted to fans on Wednesday (March 15) that he was “as sickened as you all are by today’s Ticketmaster fees debacle.”

“To be very clear, the artist has no way to limit them,” said Smith. “I have been asking how they are justified. If I get anything coherent by way of an answer, I will let you all know.”

The Cure’s first tour in the U.S. since 2016, the Shows of the Lost World Tour will begin on May 10 in New Orleans and stop for three nights at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, before wrapping up in Miami on July 1.

Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images) Media