Neil Young has weighed in on the current state of touring following Ticketmaster’s latest controversy with The Cure.
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Last week, tickets to The Cure’s North American tour went on sale but was soon mired in controversy after it was brought to light that the ticketing platform had added “unduly high” add-ons and fees to tickets against the band’s wishes.
Now, Neil Young has offered his thoughts on touring and Ticketmaster, writing on his website: “It’s over. The old days are gone. I get letters blaming me for $3,000.00 tickets for a benefit I am doing. That money does not go to me or the benefit.”
He continued: “Artists have to worry about ripped off fans blaming them for Ticketmaster add-ons and scalpers. Concert tours are no longer fun. Concert tours [are] not what they were”.
Young’s statement was shared above a report of The Cure’s dealings with Ticketmaster. Last week, frontman Robert Smith revealed that he had spoken to the ticketing system to issue small refunds to fans who had purchased tickets.
Before tickets went on sale, Smith said in a statement to fans that the band chose Ticketmaster as their ticketing partner as they hoped they would be able to provide fans with affordable tickets that weren’t “instantly and horribly distorted by resale” and the platform would be able to combat scalpers and try “to get tickets into the hands of fans at a fair price”.
Once tickets went on sale, Smith said he was “sickened” by high Ticketmaster fees after they vowed to keep prices affordable for fans. After the Verified Fan sale went live on March 15, some fans reported that Ticketmaster fees, including service fee, facility charge and order processing fee, exceeded the price of actual tickets.
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