The Cure's Robert Smith secures partial refunds from Ticketmaster over additional fees on North American tour tickets

17 March 2023, 10:02 | Written by Cerys Kenneally

(News)

(The Cure) (Robert Smith)

Robert Smith of The Cure has announced that Ticketmaster has agreed to give fans partial refunds on their North American tour tickets over "unduly high" fees.

Last week The Cure announced that tickets for their upcoming North American tour would not be "transferable" as they want to minimise "resale and keep prices at face value", and after speaking about how their system is "far from perfect" earlier this week, Robert Smith responded to fans seeing Ticketmaster adding extra fees to The Cure's tour tickets, saying he was "as sickened as you all are".

Yesterday (16 March) he shared an update after speaking to Ticketmaster, revealing that the ticketing giant has agreed to refund $10 to verified fan accounts for lowest ticket price transactions, and $5 for all other verified fan account transactions.

Smith wrote: "1 OF 2: 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 ('LTP’) TRANSACTIONS...

"2 OF 2: ...AND A $5 PER TICKET REFUND TO ALL VERIFIED FAN ACCOUNTS FOR ALL OTHER TICKET PRICE TRANSACTIONS, FOR ALL CURE SHOWS AT ALL VENUES; IF YOU ALREADY BOUGHT A TICKET YOU WILL GET AN AUTOMATIC REFUND; ALL TICKETS ON SALE TOMORROW WILL INCUR LOWER FEES."

1 OF 2: 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 ('LTP’) TRANSACTIONS...
— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 16, 2023

2 OF 2: ...AND A $5 PER TICKET REFUND TO ALL VERIFIED FAN ACCOUNTS FOR ALL OTHER TICKET PRICE TRANSACTIONS, FOR ALL CURE SHOWS AT ALL VENUES; IF YOU ALREADY BOUGHT A TICKET YOU WILL GET AN AUTOMATIC REFUND; ALL TICKETS ON SALE TOMORROW WILL INCUR LOWER FEES
— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 16, 2023

He's since been praised for his efforts in holding Ticketmaster accountable for the secret fees and getting some form of compensation for fans. Blood Red Shoes wrote, "SHOUT OUT TO ROBERT SMITH @thecure. most of us artists don’t have the clout to stand up to the thieving ticketing companies. and most of the ones who do have the clout don’t say anything. Huge appreciation for Robert Smith leading the way."

SHOUT OUT TO ROBERT SMITH @thecure

most of us artists don’t have the clout to stand up to the thieving ticketing companies. and most of the ones who do have the clout don’t say anything.

huge appreciation for Robert Smith leading the way
— Blood Red Shoes (@BloodRedShoes) March 16, 2023

Dita Von Teese added, "Love watching @RobertSmith take on Ticketmaster. Hoping other powerful artists join the fight."

Love watching @RobertSmith take on Ticketmaster. Hoping other powerful artists join the fight. https://t.co/G7B5dgz0Rl
— Dita Von Teese (@DitaVonTeese) March 17, 2023

During their European shows last year, The Cure debuted a few new tracks including "A Fragile Thing", "I Can Never Say Goodbye", "And Nothing Is Forever", "Alone" and "Endsong".