Extortion disguised as ticketing
Extortion disguised as ticketing — enough is enough.
I am extremely disappointed by the experience of purchasing tickets for Radiohead through Ticketmaster. What should have been a straightforward and positive process was overshadowed by hidden fees, inflated costs, and a resale environment that leaves genuine fans exploited.
Ticketmaster’s practices are unacceptable. Fees are only revealed at the final stage of checkout, making the true cost far higher than the advertised price. This lack of transparency has been the subject of legal complaints in multiple jurisdictions, and yet the behaviour continues. With Ticketmaster holding exclusive contracts for most venues, fans are left with no meaningful choice but to accept these charges.
The resale market makes matters worse. Before the general sale for Radiohead’s tour even opened, speculative listings appeared online at many times the face value of the tickets. In some cases, thousands of pounds were being asked for tickets that sellers did not even possess. This is misleading, exploitative, and under UK consumer law may well be unlawful.
Radiohead’s management also bears responsibility. Although the band has spoken publicly against ticket touting, the systems they have chosen to use fail to protect their audience. If they are serious about safeguarding fans, they should refuse exclusive arrangements with platforms that enable these practices, insist on transparent pricing, and take stronger action against speculative resales.
The law already prohibits bots, misleading listings, and hidden charges — yet these problems persist. Fans should not be forced into a system where profiteering comes before fairness.
I call on both Ticketmaster and Radiohead to put their supporters first:
Show ticket prices clearly and honestly at the point of sale.
Eliminate speculative resale listings.
Cap or control mark-ups on secondary markets.
Until these steps are taken, the process of buying tickets will remain unfair, frustrating, and damaging to the reputation of both the artist and the ticketing company.
