'Extortionate and pernicious': Dua Lipa and other stars urge UK Government to honour ticket pricing pledge
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As artists call for more to be done to prevent ticket touts, others within the industry believe a cap would cause more hindrance than help.
- Dozens of UK musicians have signed a statement calling for more action on the increasing issue of ticket touts.
- Dua Lipa, Coldplay, Robert Smith and more have asked Keir Starmer to honour a pledge made in Labour’s general election manifesto.
- However, ticketing agencies believe price caps do not protect fans and instead risk escalating fraud
Dozens of prominent UK musicians, including Dua Lipa, Coldplay and Radiohead, have urged the UK government to honour their pledge on cracking down on ticket touts, including websites used to “exploit music fans.”
The letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer was signed by 38 artists, including high-profile names such as Iron Maiden, Johnny Marr, Robert Smith (The Cure), Sam Fender, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, PJ Harvey, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason, Mogwai, and New Order.
In the statement, the artists called on Starmer to use the next king’s speech to address and fulfil Labour’s general election manifesto pledge to cap the ever-escalating issue of tickets sold on the secondary market; in some cases, for more than triple the face value originally paid.
The artists call such websites and practices “extortionate and pernicious” for UK music fans, who have felt the sting of secondary prices in recent years.
“For too long, certain resale platforms have allowed touts to bulk buy and then resell tickets at inflated prices, forcing fans to either pay above the odds or miss out entirely,” the statement reads.“This erodes trust in the live events sector and undermines the efforts of artists and organisers to make shows accessible and affordable.”
Among the ideas the government have discussed being considered are a “hard cap” of between zero and a 30% increase of the face value of a ticket, with a current review looking to have its results published within weeks, according to The Guardian.
The artists stated that a hard cap is necessary to curb the exploitative secondary ticketing market. They argue that this market, which currently serves the interests of touts, prevents genuine fans from accessing their preferred music, theatre, and sports events.
The proposals have faced stiff resistance, however, as secondary ticketing companies claim they would increase fraud, and the UK's biggest touts were secretly caught by The Guardian during an undercover investigation planning their own political influence campaign to fight the measure.
“Where caps exist, fraud soars”
However, the move has prompted responses from secondary ticketing outlets, who state that any reforms should be “guided by evidence “ and “not opinions.”
In a statement from viagogo, they assert that the ticketing industry requires "reforms guided by evidence—not opinions—to ensure they truly protect fans." The company’s core argument is that price caps have a proven track record of failure, citing examples in Ireland and Victoria, Australia, where caps allegedly pushed transactions onto unregulated social media sites, leading to fraud rates nearly four times higher than in the UK.
This position is strongly supported by the UK's financial sector. UK Finance—which represents over 300 financial institutions, including Lloyds, NatWest, HSBC, and Barclays—warned the government that price caps risk escalating financial losses.
NatWest, Monzo, and Wise cautioned the Fraud Minister, Lord Hanson, that caps could fuel a dangerous surge in online ticket scams. This warning is compounded by real-world data; Revolut reported an 80% spike in ticket fraud in Ireland after NFL Dublin tickets went on sale.
Criminologist Dr. Nicola Harding also reinforced that a price cap could lead to a fraud risk, noting specific fraud rates: "Ireland’s ticket fraud rate is 13.6% and Victoria, Australia’s 13.7%—almost four times higher than the UK’s rate of 3.8%. Caps push sales onto unregulated social platforms, fuelling scams and leaving fans unprotected."
viagogo also argues the actual solution lies in "open ticketing": a system that connects primary and resale platforms in real-time, allowing for critical information sharing to eliminate fraud and illegal bot activity through digital verification. They compare this to the technology used when booking flights through multiple travel sites.
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