Fans spotlight when Robert Smith fought Ticketmaster to keep The Cure ticket prices affordable

nme.com:

Oasis’ reunion tour pricing, music fans have spotlighted Robert Smith’s efforts to keep tickets affordable for The Cure shows.Last weekend tickets went on sale for Noel and Liam Gallagher’s reunion tour as the newly reformed Oasis for a series of 17 summer stadium gigs across the UK and beyond.Despite the pair’s strong anti-tout stance and efforts to curb inflated re-sale prices, fans soon discovered that Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing system was in place, which meant that ticket costs increased in response to demand.According to experts, not warning fans prior to the sale may have been a breach of consumer law, and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has also called for a review into dynamic pricing and secondary ticket sites.As fans are still reeling in the disappointment of losing out on tickets, Smith’s own efforts to go up against Ticketmaster have been pulled back into focus.In an email to fans last year, The Cure frontman vowed to keep ticket prices reasonable on the band’s US tour, 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.”After tickets went on sale, the musician said he was “sickened” by high Ticketmaster fees that were still applied, and subsequently pushed Ticketmaster to give money back for “unduly high” fees.He also asked Ticketmaster to explain why tickets in the promised face value ticket exchange were “weird” and “over priced”.As the Oasis ticketing controversy remains headline news, many have praised Smith’s efforts to go up against the entertainment giant.“Let’s not forget that it is within the powers of big bands to keep tickets affordable, rein in resales and exorbitant fees.