British music sensation Olivia Dean has successfully pressured ticketing giant Ticketmaster into issuing partial refunds to her fans, following her public condemnation of "vile" ticket resale practices for her sold-out North American tour.
A Singer's Stand Against Inflated Prices
The controversy erupted after tickets for Dean's tour sold out in minutes on 21 November. Almost immediately, tickets appeared on resale sites with staggering price tags, some exceeding $1,000 – more than 14 times their original face value.
Taking to Instagram, the "The Art of Loving" singer did not hold back, directly calling out the major ticketing companies. "@Ticketmaster @Livenation @AEGPresents you are providing a disgusting service," she wrote. "The prices at which you're allowing tickets to be re-sold is vile and completely against our wishes. Live music should be affordable and accessible and we need to find a new way of making that possible. BE BETTER."
Ticketmaster's U-turn and Fan Refunds
Faced with the public criticism, Ticketmaster initially responded by agreeing to cap resale prices on its own site at face value. The company then went a significant step further, announcing it was in the process of refunding fans for any markup they had already paid to resellers on the Ticketmaster platform.
Michael Rapino, CEO of Ticketmaster's parent company Live Nation Entertainment, released a statement supporting the artist's stance. "We share Olivia’s desire to keep live music accessible and ensure fans have the best access to affordable tickets," he said, adding that while they cannot control other marketplaces, they have "taken steps to lead by example."
A Wider Movement for Fair Ticketing
Olivia Dean's victory is part of a broader push within the music industry and government to reform ticket resale markets. In a follow-up post, Dean urged fellow artists to recognise their power, stating that "capping resale at face value is your right." She praised the ticketing service DICE for its approach and encouraged others to question standard practices.
This artist-led pressure is yielding results. The UK government has recently confirmed it will make it illegal to resell tickets for live entertainment and sporting events for more than their original price, a move lobbied for by major acts like Coldplay and Dua Lipa.
The news comes as Dean enjoys a phenomenal year, with her second album, "The Art of Loving," debuting at No. 1 and spending eight weeks in the Top 5, alongside four singles in the UK Top 20.
