A coalition of the UK's most prominent musicians, including global superstar Dua Lipa and rock giants Coldplay, has issued a direct plea to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, demanding immediate government action to tackle the escalating crisis of ticket touting.
A Unified Stand Against Exploitative Practices
The urgent call to action comes in the form of a statement signed by 38 major artists. The list of signatories reads like a who's who of the British music scene, featuring legendary acts such as Iron Maiden, The Cure's Robert Smith, Sam Fender, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, PJ Harvey, and Radiohead. They are joined by Pink Floyd's Nick Mason, Mogwai, and New Order in this significant collective effort.
In their statement, the artists describe the current state of the secondary ticketing market as "extortionate and pernicious" for dedicated music fans across the country. They highlight a system that allows touts to purchase tickets in bulk only to resell them at massively inflated prices, sometimes for more than triple their original face value.
The Core Demand: A Hard Cap on Resale Prices
The artists are specifically calling on the Prime Minister to use the platform of the next king's speech to commit to a pledge made in Labour's own general election manifesto. This pledge focuses on implementing a hard cap on resale prices for tickets sold on secondary websites.
"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," the statement powerfully asserts. It goes on to warn that this damaging practice erodes trust in the live events sector and directly undermines the work of artists and event organisers who strive to keep shows accessible and affordable for their audience.
According to reports from The Guardian, the government is currently finalising a review of this very issue. Among the potential solutions being considered is the establishment of a hard cap, which could limit resale prices to somewhere between the original face value and a maximum increase of 30%.
Industry Resistance and Political Pressure
Unsurprisingly, these proposals are meeting with significant resistance from the secondary ticketing industry. Companies operating in this space argue that such caps would inadvertently lead to an increase in fraudulent ticket sales.
However, the campaign for reform gained considerable momentum after an undercover investigation by The Guardian allegedly caught the UK's most prominent ticket touts secretly planning their own political influence campaign. Their goal was to actively fight against the proposed government measures designed to protect consumers.
With the government's review expected to be published within weeks, the pressure from this high-profile artistic alliance adds a powerful new voice to the debate. The music industry is now watching closely to see if the Labour government will deliver on its manifesto promise and take decisive action to curb the exploitative practices that have long plagued the live event experience for fans.
