Dua Lipa, Sam Fender, Radiohead and Coldplay are urging the government to crack down on ticket touts. Find out why they’re speaking up, and what it could mean for fans.

Dua Lipa, Sam Fender, Radiohead, and Coldplay, are calling on the UK government to actually follow through on its promise to crack down on the problem.

They’ve all signed an open letter asking Prime Minister Keir Starmer to bring in new rules that would stop people from buying up tickets in bulk and reselling them for ridiculous prices. For years, fans have been stuck paying hundreds over face value on sites like Viagogo and StubHub, and artists say it’s gotten completely out of hand.

The musicians argue that a cap on resale prices would make things a lot fairer. It would stop resellers from charging insane mark-ups, make it easier for fans to spot fake tickets, and generally bring some trust back into buying tickets online. And honestly, anyone who’s tried to get tickets to a major tour knows exactly what they’re talking about.

The government actually ran a consultation about this earlier in the year, but nothing concrete has happened since, which is why artists and consumer groups are pushing hard again now. Which?, the consumer organisation helping coordinate this whole effort, recently found that a lot of the reselling isn’t even happening in the UK. There are big operations in places like Brazil, Singapore and Dubai that scoop up tickets the second they go on sale, then flip them back to British fans with huge mark-ups.

Of course, not everyone is thrilled about the idea of a price cap. Some resale websites claim that stricter rules will just push buyers onto dodgy, unregulated platforms and make fraud even worse. Financial groups have also warned about possible risks. But bands like Radiohead say the current system is already riddled with fake listings and inflated prices, so doing nothing isn’t exactly working either.

What we want is simple, a firm cap on resale prices, better identity checks so anonymous touts can’t hide, and actual enforcement so the rules mean something. They’re hoping the government includes all this in the next King’s Speech so it can finally move forward.

If these changes go through, it could make concerts far more affordable and way less stressful for fans. If not, we’re probably stuck with the same old story, tickets disappearing instantly, popping back up minutes later at triple the price, and fans getting ripped off yet again.

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