Robert Smith on Ticketmaster’s Dynamic Pricing: ‘It Is Itself A Bit Of A Scam’
The Cure made headlines last week by announcing their first North American tour in seven years. Additionally, the tour was notable due to the band not using Ticketmaster’s controversial ticket pricing structure called “dynamic pricing.”
With “dynamic pricing,” ticket prices rise based on their demand. Ticketmaster has previously stated they do this in order to deter tickets from ending up on the secondary market. Cure frontman Robert Smith doesn’t necessarily agree with this at all.
Smith took to Twitter and touched on the band’s decision not to use “dynamic pricing” in a series of tweets. He begins, “We had a final say in all our ticket pricing for this upcoming tour and didn’t want those prices instantly and horribly distorted by resale. We were told, ‘In North America, the resale business is a multi-billion dollar industry.'”
WE HAD FINAL SAY IN ALL OUR TICKET PRICING FOR THIS UPCOMING TOUR, AND DIDN’T WANT THOSE PRICES INSTANTLY AND HORRIBLY DISTORTED BY RESALE - WE WERE TOLD "In North America the resale business is a multi-billion $ industry.
— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 15, 2023
Smith notes that Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program helps reduce the number of tickets that end up on the secondary market. With that in mind, The Cure wanted to use that program. However, they took issue with “dynamic pricing.” Smith writes, “We didn’t agree to the ‘dynamic pricing’/’price surging’/’platinum ticket’ thing…because it is itself a bit of a scam? A separate conversion!”
(WE DIDN’T AGREE TO THE 'DYNAMIC PRICING' / 'PRICE SURGING’ / ‘PLATINUM TICKET' THING... BECAUSE IT IS ITSELF A BIT OF A SCAM? A SEPARATE CONVERSATION!)
— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 15, 2023
He continues, “We know it is a far from perfect system – but the reality is that if there aren’t enough tickets on sale, a number of fans are going to miss out whatever system we use; At least this one tries to get tickets into the hands of fans at a fair price. And/or we should play more/bigger shows? Ha!!! Onwards…”
WE KNOW IT IS A FAR FROM PERFECT SYSTEM - BUT THE REALITY IS THAT IF THERE AREN’T ENOUGH TICKETS ONSALE, A NUMBER OF FANS ARE GOING TO MISS OUT WHATEVER SYSTEM WE USE; AT LEAST THIS ONE TRIES TO GET TICKETS INTO THE HANDS OF FANS AT A FAIR PRICE…
— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 15, 2023
...AND/OR WE SHOULD PLAY MORE/BIGGER SHOWS? HA!!! ONWARDS...
— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 15, 2023
The Cure’s North American tour kicks off on May 10 in New Orleans and wrap on July 1 in Miami. A full list of dates is below.
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The Cure – 2023 North American Tour Dates
5/10 — New Orleans, La. @ Smoothie King Center
5/12 — Houston, Texas @ Toyota Center
5/13 — Dallas, Texas @ Dos Equis Pavilion
5/14 — Austin, Texas @ Moody Center
5/16 — Albuquerque, N.M. @ Isleta Amphitheater
5/18 — Phoenix, Ariz. @ Desert Diamond Arena
5/20 — San Diego, Calif. @ NICU Amphitheatre
5/23 — Los Angeles, Calif. @ Hollywood Bowl
5/24 — Los Angeles, Calif. @ Hollywood Bowl
5/25 — Los Angeles, Calif. @ Hollywood Bowl
5/27 — San Francisco, Calif. @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
6/01 — Seattle, Wash. @ Climate Pledge Arena
6/02 — Vancouver, British Columbia @ Rogers Arena
6/04 — Salt Lake City, Utah @ Vivint Smart Home Arena
6/06 — Denver, Colo. @ Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
6/08 — Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn. @ Xcel Energy Center
6/10 — Chicago, Ill. @ United Center
6/11 — Cleveland, Ohio @ Blossom Music Center
6/13 — Detroit, Mich. @ Pine Knob Music Theatre
6/14 — Toronto, Ontario @ Budweiser Stage
6/16 — Montreal, Quebec @ Bell Centre
6/18 — Boston, Mass. @ Xfinity Center
6/20 — New York, N.Y. @ Madison Square Garden
6/21 — New York, N.Y. @ Madison Square Garden
6/22 — New York, N.Y. @ Madison Square Garden
6/24 — Philadelphia, Pa. @ Wells Fargo Center
6/25 — Columbia, Md. @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
6/27 — Atlanta, Ga. @ State Farm Arena
6/29 — Tampa, Fla. @ Amalie Arena
7/01 — Miami, Fla. @ Miami-Dade Arena
