The Cure's Robert Smith blasts dynamic pricing as 'a scam' that's 'driven by greed'
He doesn't hold back
The Cure frontman Robert Smith has spoken strongly against dynamic ticket pricing calling it “a scam” that’s “driven by greed.”
Just like Paul Heaton, 65-year-old Robert Smith has long fought to keep ticket prices low for Cure concerts, with the tickets to the band’s UK arena tour in December 2022 costing between £40.75 and £59.00.
Back in 2023, Smith said he was “sickened” when he discovered fans were hit with “unduly high” Ticketmaster fees for the band’s North American tour.
He successfully managed to negotiate a refund of $5 to $10 for fans, depending on the type of ticket purchased.
In a new interview posted to The Cure’s official website, Smith commented on the Oasis dynamic pricing debacle which saw ‘in demand’ tickets for the reunion tour more than double in price.
“I was shocked by how much profit is made (by ticketing),” Smith said. “I thought, ‘We don’t need to make all this money.’
“My fights with the label have all been about how we can price things lower. The only reason you’d charge more for a gig is if you were worried that it was the last time you would be able to sell a T-shirt.”
He continued: “But if you had the self-belief that you’re still going to be here in a year’s time, you’d want the show to be great so people come back. You don’t want to charge as much as the market will let you. If people save on the tickets, they buy beer or merch. There is goodwill, they will come back next time. It is a self-fulfilling good vibe and I don’t understand why more people don’t do it.”
“It was easy to set ticket prices, but you need to be pig-headed. We didn’t allow dynamic pricing because it’s a scam that would disappear if every artist said, ‘I don’t want that!’ But most artists hide behind management. “Oh, we didn’t know,” they say. They all know. If they say they do not, they’re either f---king stupid or lying. It’s just driven by greed.”
Featuring the lead singles ‘Alone’ and ‘A Fragile Thing’, The Cure’s first studio album in 16 years ‘Songs of a Lost World’ is released on Friday 1st November.
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