The Cure’s Robert Smith has said that 7,000 scalped tickets have been cancelled since they went on sale last month for the band’s ‘Shows Of A Lost World’ US tour dates.
Smith said in a tweet: “Approximately 7,000 tickets across approximately 2,200 orders have been cancelled. These are tickets acquired with fake accounts/listed on secondary resale sites. Ticketmaster have identified specific locations from secondary postings.”
The Cure frontman also warned prior to revealing the figure that ticket-buyers should not attempt to find a loophole with ticket transfer rules. He said: “Beware another scalper scam: offering to sell/send account login details to get around TM transfer limitations…any/all tickets obtained in this way will be cancelled, and original fees paid on those tickets will not be refunded.
“Original fees paid on those tickets will be donated to Amnesty International, and the tickets themselves will be resold to fans.”
The Cure and Smith have been vocal about keeping prices cheap for fans and keeping them safe from ticket scalpers.
Before tickets went on sale last month, the band announced that ticket prices would be available for as little as $20 (£16.18/€18.41) each and that transfer and resale would be limited.
Following the tickets going on sale, fans were quick to voice their anger at Ticketmaster’s fees in addition to the cost of the ticket.
Smith said at the time: “I am as sickened as you all are by today’s Ticketmaster ‘fees’ debacle. To be very clear: The artist has no way to limit them. I have been asking how they are justified.”
Following a discussion between the ticketing platform and Smith, Ticketmaster offered to partially refund fans that had paid the high fees.