Dua Lipa and Coldplay Call for Crackdown on Ticket Touts

Dua Lipa was among the artists who appealed to the government to ban ticket resale at highly inflated prices.

sarah

Nov 13, 2025 - 20:00

Dua Lipa and Coldplay Call for Crackdown on Ticket Touts

Pop stars including Dua Lipa, Coldplay, Sam Fender, Radiohead, and The Cure have called on Sir Keir Starmer to fulfill his election promise to protect fans from online ticket brokers.

More than 40 musicians have signed a letter urging the British Prime Minister to "stop brokers from fleecing fans" and limit the price they can charge for ticket resale.

Following fan complaints, the government launched a public consultation on the issue in January, stating that it would tackle brokers who are "systematically purchasing tickets from the primary market and selling them to fans, often at highly inflated prices."

But seven months after the consultation ended, there is still no indication when legislation will be introduced.

'Fraud'

New research from Which? magazine found that some tickets to see Oasis at Wembley Stadium this summer were priced at up to £4,442.

According to analysis by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), tickets sold on the resale market typically command a price cap of more than 50%.

In January, the government said it was considering imposing a price cap of up to 30%.

Dan Smith of the indie-pop group Bastille said it "feels strange" that fans aren't protected from price gouging, while countries like Ireland and Australia have implemented ticket resale limits.

He said, "It's not surprising that the idea of a price cap has such widespread support from bands and artists."

"With the government's support, we can all reach a situation where people won't be duped by brokers and genuine fans can easily resell unwanted tickets at their original price."

A Department for Culture spokesperson said: "This government is fully committed to cracking down on touts and is taking further steps to put fans back at the center of live events."

"We have carefully considered the evidence provided in response to our consultation earlier this year and will present our plans shortly."

The government's consultation also proposed limiting the number of tickets resellers could offer.

In the letter, artists such as PJ Harvey, Mark Knopfler, Amy Macdonald, Iron Maiden, and Nick Cave, along with consumer organizations, urged the government to respond to the consultation "as soon as possible" and pledge to include legislation on price caps in the next King's Speech.

They said the move would "restore trust in the ticketing system" and "help democratize public access to the arts."

The letter comes at a time when Which? It found that StubHub and Viagogo are major sellers of tickets to popular American events in Brazil, Dubai, Singapore, Spain, and the United States.

These findings echo a BBC investigation this summer, which revealed teams of foreign workers were buying tickets to concerts in Britain in bulk and reselling them for a profit.

The watchdog found that it was often difficult for fans to establish the identity of the seller or contact them—while the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) obtained a court order in 2018 requiring Viagogo to reveal the identities of merchants.

In football's Premier League, where resale is prohibited because the sport has to adhere to stricter laws than concerts to maintain segregation in stadiums, Viagogo stressed that "most" of its sellers are fans who can no longer use their tickets; they claim that price caps will "further strengthen Ticketmaster's monopoly on the market."

StubHub further stated that it implements "stringent measures to protect consumers," including a "100% money-back guarantee."

While it does not support the imposition of price caps, it added: "We believe more can be done in this area to improve standards for all ticket buyers."