Olivia Dean wins fans partial refunds from Ticketmaster and AXS
Live Nation‘s Ticketmaster and AEG‘s AXS will give refunds to Olivia Dean fans who purchased resale tickets on their platforms. The partial refunds will reflect the difference between the original price and the higher prices charged by resellers.
Neither company received the markup on those resold tickets, but will now absorb the refund cost to fans. “Refunds will be processed by December 10 and may take a few additional days to post, depending on individual banks,” Ticketmaster said in a statement.
Olivia Dean wins fans partial refunds from Ticketmaster and AXS
“disgusting service”
The refunds on resold tickets come after last week Olivia Dean called out both promoters and their ticketing companies over the handling of ticket sales for her tour.
“You are providing a disgusting service,” Dean wrote on social media. “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…”
Ticketmaster then took the unusual step of reposting Dean’s complaint alongside a pledge to restrict resale markup. “We support artists’ ability to set the terms of how their tickets are sold and resold” wrote Dean. We’re capping resale prices for Olivia Dean’s tour on our site at face value and hope other resale sites will follow.”
Last year the ticketing giant added the ability for artists to cap resale prices and launched a Face Value Exchange. Billie Eilish is among those already using the Ticketmaster’s Face Value Exchange and steering fans there.
Olivia Dean shares refund news with fans
Dean told her fans about the refunds and resale price cap on social media Thursday: “Every artist and their team should be granted the option to cap re-sale at face value ahead of on sale, to keep the live music space accessible for all. The secondary ticket market is an exploitative and unregulated space and we as an industry have a responsibility to protect people and our community.”
“Thank you for your patience and I’m looking forward to seeing all you real humans at the show.”
“We share Olivia’s desire to keep live music accessible and ensure fans have the best access to affordable tickets,” said Michael Rapino, CEO of Ticketmaster’s parent company Live Nation. “While we can’t require other marketplaces to honor artists’ resale preferences, we echo Olivia’s call to ‘do better’ and have taken steps to lead by example.”
As of this weekend, tickets for Olivia Dean’s U.S. tour were still selling on StubHub at 50% to 240% above their original face value.
Unprecedented Move At A Crucial Time
Refunding the markup on already resold tickets is unprecedented. But the move is a social media and PR win for both companies at a time when concert promotion and ticketing are under increased scrutiny.
Ticketmaster and Live Nation are facing numerous lawsuits including a Department of Justice call to break up the companies. The DOJ is conducting a criminal investigation into whether Live Nation and AEG illegally colluded on refund policies for concerts canceled during the early days of the pandemic.
In a separate case, the DOJ indicted Tim Leiweke, the current CEO of Oak View Group and a former AEG executive, for allegedly orchestrating a conspiracy to rig the bidding process for an arena at a public university in Austin, Texas. He has been charged with a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
MORE: Ticketmaster caps Olivia Dean resales at face value
Bruce Houghton is Founder & Editor of Hypebot, Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, a Berklee College Of Music professor and founder of Skyline Artists.
“Olivia Dean wins fans partial refunds from Ticketmaster and AXS” first appeared on Hypebot.com
