After several days filled with complaints about excessive fees on the $20 tickets to see The Cure – including complaints from its frontman Robert Smith – a report indicates Ticketmaster will give back some of its fees.
Rolling Stone reports this evening that Ticketmaster is giving a discount on its fees that more than doubled the price of a ticket to see The Cure.
“After further conversation, Ticketmaster have agreed with us that many of the fees being charged are unduly high, and as a gesture of goodwill have offered a $10 per ticket refund to all verified fan accounts for lowest ticket price transactions,” Smith tweeted.
“And a $5 per ticket refund to all verified fan accounts for all other ticket price transactions, for all Cure shows at all venues,” he added. “If you already bought a ticket you will get an automatic refund; all tickets on sale tomorrow will incur lower fees.”
In one screenshot by a fan that circulated widely on the internet, a purchase of four tickets at $20 had a service fee of $11.65 to each ticket, an added facility charge of $10 per ticket, then an order processing fee of $5.50. That led to a total of $172.10 on four $20 tickets sold for $80.
The Cure has been proactive in trying to reduce costs for its fans. It has eschewed the so-called “dynamic pricing” plan that escalates ticket pricing based on demand.
Ticketmaster has been embroiled in controversy for decades over what many fans believe are excessive fees.
The Cure could control the price of its tickets, but not the excess fees. Their “Shows of a Lost World” tour has a three-night stay at the Hollywood Bowl on May 23-25.