Dua Lipa, Coldplay, Sam Fender, Radiohead, The Cure and more than 40 other major artists have urged Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to deliver on his election pledge to protect music fans from online ticket touts.
In a jointly signed letter, they called on the government to cap resale prices and prevent secondary sellers from exploiting fans. The appeal comes after months of frustration over rising complaints and escalating ticket mark-ups on resale platforms.
The government opened a public consultation in January, acknowledging that resellers frequently buy large quantities of tickets at face value before pushing them back onto the market at heavily inflated prices. Despite the consultation closing seven months ago, there has been no clear update on when new rules might arrive.
Recent findings from Which? highlighted the scale of the issue, revealing Oasis tickets for their upcoming Wembley shows listed for as high as £4,442. Data from the Competition and Markets Authority showed that resale prices are typically inflated by more than 50%, with the government previously suggesting a cap of up to 30%.
Dan Smith of Bastille said it was “crazy” that UK fans still lack basic protection, pointing out that countries like Ireland and Australia have already implemented caps. He added that with proper action, fans could finally avoid being overcharged, and unwanted tickets could be resold at fair prices.
A spokesperson for the Department for Culture reaffirmed the government’s commitment to curbing the issue, saying they have reviewed input from the consultation and will outline the next steps soon.
The consultation also looked at setting limits on how many tickets resellers can list. Artists such as PJ Harvey, Mark Knopfler, Amy MacDonald, Iron Maiden and Nick Cave joined consumer groups in pressing the government to act quickly and include a resale price cap in the next King’s Speech. They argued that such measures would restore trust in the ticketing system and make live events more accessible to everyone.
