Robert Smith “sickened” by Ticketmaster fees, after The Cure aimed for low ticket prices
The Cure‘s Robert Smith has said he is “sickened” by high Ticketmaster fees for the band’s upcoming North American tour after they vowed to keep prices affordable for fans.Last week the band announced a 30-date tour across the US, which is set to kick off at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on May 10 before closing out at the Miami-Dade Arena in Florida on July 1.In an email to fans, Smith said they would keep ticket prices reasonable, writing: “The Cure have agreed all ticket prices, and apart from a few Hollywood Bowl charity seats, there will be no ‘platinum’ or ‘dynamically priced’ tickets on this tour.”The band also said that tickets would not be “transferable” to minimise “resale and keep prices at face value”. Smith has since elaborated on the ticketing strategy, acknowledging “real problems” with the system and that it wasn’t “perfect”, but did clarify that the band had a “final say” over pricing.However, after the Verified Fan sale went live yesterday (March 15), some fans reported that Ticketmaster fees, including service fee, facility charge and order processing fee, exceeded the price of actual tickets.Smith has now responded, tweeting that he was “sickened” by the “ticketmaster ‘fees’ debacle”.He continued: “To be very clear: the artist has no way to limit them.