Dua Lipa and Coldplay urge government to ‘stop touts from fleecing fans’

Pop stars including Dua Lipa, Coldplay, Sam Fender, Radiohead and The Cure have called on Sir Keir Starmer to fulfill his election promise to protect fans from online ticket sales.

More than 40 musicians have signed a letter calling on the British prime minister to “stop the fan outcry” and limit the price that can be charged when tickets are resold.

The government launched a public consultation on the issue in January following complaints from fans and said it would tackle touts who “systematically buy tickets from the primary market and sell them to fans, often at vastly inflated prices”.

But seven months after consultations were completed, there is no indication of when the legislation could be introduced.

New research from which? magazine found that some tickets to see Oasis at Wembley Stadium this summer were listed for as much as £4,442.

According to analysis by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), tickets sold on the resale market are often overpriced by more than 50%.

In January, the government announced that it was considering a price ceiling of up to 30%.

Dan Smith, of indie pop group Bastille, said it “seems crazy” that fans are not protected from price increases at a time when countries such as Ireland and Australia are imposing caps on ticket sales.

“It’s no surprise that the price cap idea is so widely supported from bands and artists,” he said.

“With the government’s support we can all move to a situation where people will no longer be defrauded by touts and genuine fans can easily sell unwanted tickets for their original price.”

A Ministry of Culture spokesman said: “This government is fully committed to cracking down on toutism and is going further to put fans back at the heart of live events.

“We have carefully considered the evidence submitted in response to our consultations earlier this year and will announce our plans shortly.”

The government’s consultation also recommended limiting the number of tickets sellers can offer.

In the letter, artists including PJ Harvey, Mark Knopfler, Amy MacDonald, Iron Maiden and Nick Cave joined consumer organizations in calling on the government to “respond as soon as possible and commit to including price cap legislation in the next King’s Speech” to the consultations.

They said the move would “restore faith in the ticketing system” and “help democratize public access to the arts”.

The letter comes like this: Which one? He found prolific resellers in Brazil, Dubai, Singapore, Spain and the US who harvested tickets to popular events in the US and then offered them for resale at inflated prices on sites like StubHub and Viagogo.

The findings caused a stir BBC’s research this summerdiscovered that teams of overseas workers were collectively purchasing tickets for concerts in the UK with the intention of reselling them for profit.

The watchdog found that although the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued a court order in 2018 requiring Viagogo to disclose the identity of traders, it was often difficult for fans to identify or contact the merchant.

Which? Evidence of speculative selling was also found, with tickets listed on secondary sites even though the seller had not yet purchased them.

Which? Consumer law expert Lisa Webb said the joint statement released Thursday “makes clear that artists, fan organizations and consumers reject a corrupt ticket market that has allowed touts to thrive for too long.”

Resale sites such as Viagogo and Stubhub claim the price cap could push customers to unregulated sites and social media, putting them at greater risk of fraud.

In football’s Premier League, where resales are banned because the sport must comply with stricter laws than music events to maintain segregation in stadiums. BBC recently revealed A black market for match tickets, with some changing hands for tens of thousands of pounds.