Coldplay, Dua Lipa, Radiohead and Sam Fender Lead Calls for U.K. Ticket Resale Price Cap

Four of the U.K.’s leading artists are among those coming together to call on the British Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, to honour a pledge to protect fans from online ticket scalpers, also known as touts.

Coldplay, Dua Lipa, Radiohead and Sam Fender are all signatories to a joint statement published Thursday (Nov. 13), in which artists, managers and fan groups are asking Starmer to commit to resale price cap legislation in the U.K.

In its manifesto for the 2024 general election, the Labour Party proposed policies for new consumer protections on ticket resales. This evolved into an industry consultation in January, which invited views from venues, promoters, fans and other parties on a resale price cap, considering options from face value to a 30% uplift.

On Oct. 5, seven months after the consultation closed, the U.K.’s culture minister, Ian Murray, confirmed that the current Labour government would press ahead with plans for a price cap on resale tickets — but the specifics of these plans have yet to be revealed.

Now, dozens of industry figures are calling for the Prime Minister to make the commitment to price cap legislation in the next King’s Speech, which is set to take place next spring.

In the statement, the coalition says new protections are needed to “help fix elements of the extortionate and pernicious secondary ticketing market that serve the interests of touts, whose exploitative practices are preventing genuine fans from accessing the music, theatre and sports they love.”

It adds: “For too long certain resale platforms have allowed touts to bulk buy and then resell tickets at inflated prices, forcing fans to either pay above the odds or miss out entirely. This erodes trust in the live events sector and undermines the efforts of artists and organisers to make shows accessible and affordable. Introducing a cap will restore faith in the ticketing system, help democratise public access to the arts in line with the Government’s agenda and make it easier for fans to spot illegal behaviour, such as ticketing fraud.”

Alongside the aforementioned names, the list of signatories includes The Cure’s Robert Smith, New Order, Mark Knopfler, Iron Maiden, PJ Harvey, alt-J, Aluna Francis, Bastille, Ben Howard, Brix Smith, Mogwai, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Nubiyan Twist. (View the full list below.)

With the statement on Thursday, the group of signatories joins consumer choice organisation Which?, the FanFair Alliance, O2 and the Football Supporters’ Association, along with organisations representing the music and theatre industries, venues, managers and ticket retailers, among others.

The statement arrives alongside a new investigation from Which?, which outlines the global touting operations targeting the U.K.’s ticketing industry. The group identified prolific scalpers in locations including Brazil, Dubai, Singapore, Spain and the United States, all of whom were bulk-buying tickets for live music and sporting events in the U.K. before relisting them at inflated prices on platforms such as StubHub and Viagogo.

Examples of this practice included tickets for Oasis’ Wembley Stadium shows, which were listed for prices as high as £3,498.85 ($4,594.04) on StubHub and £4,442 ($5832.41) on Viagogo. Another finding showed that a seat for the recent Minnesota Vikings vs. Cleveland Browns NFL clash at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was listed for £3,568.39 ($4685.35) on StubHub.

Elsewhere, Which? also found multiple cases of speculative selling, which is when tickets are listed on secondary sites for double the price — even though the seller has not bought them yet.

In a press release, Lisa Webb, a consumer law expert at Which?, said: “Today’s joint statement makes clear that artists, fan organisations and consumers reject the broken ticketing market that has allowed touts to thrive for too long. The Prime Minister pledged to protect fans and a price cap on resold tickets will be a critical step towards fixing this industry, but he must commit to this legislation by including it in the next King’s Speech.”

Webb concluded: “Further reforms are also needed to ensure sellers actually own the tickets they advertise before listing them, that resale platforms ensure the identities of sellers and key information about a ticket are verified and that the new rules are effectively enforced.”

Artist signatories: Alfa Mist, alt-J, Aluna Francis, Amy Macdonald, Andro, Bastille, Ben Howard, Brix Smith, Charlotte OC, Coldplay, Dana Margolin (Porridge Radio), Dua Lipa, Graeme Park, Howard Jones, Idlewild, Iron Maiden, Johnny Marr, Keane, Kelli-Leigh, Low Island, Mark Knopfler, Mogwai, New Order, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Nick Mason, Nubiyan Twist, Orlando Higginbottom, PJ Harvey, Quantic, Radiohead, Revenge of Calculon, Robert Mitchell, Robert Smith (The Cure), Sam Fender, SNAYX, Sweetie Irie, The New Eves, Travis.

Organisations: Fan Fair Alliance, Featured Artists Coalition, Football Supporters Association, LIVE, Music Managers’ Forum, Music Venue Trust, Musicians’ Union, O2, Society of London Theatre & UK Theatre, Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers (STAR), UK Music, Which?.