Following Olivia Dean’s public criticism of Ticketmaster and Live Nation for allowing excessive resale prices on her upcoming The Art of Loving Tour, Ticketmaster announced it will cap future resale ticket prices with no added fees and refund fans for any previous markups paid on their platform. In an Instagram Story on November 21, Dean condemned the resale pricing as “vile,” while adding, “Live music should be affordable and accessible, and we need to find a new way of making that possible. BE BETTER.” Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino supported Dean’s demands in a post on the company’s website, where he wrote: “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.” Ticketmaster’s review found that under 20% of tickets were resold, mostly by genuine fans, and plans to issue partial refunds by early December for those who paid inflated resale prices. Dean’s North American tour is scheduled to run from July to August next year. (Rolling Stone)
