The music industry has penned an open letter, urging Prime Minister Keir Starmer not to make a U-turn on the government’s promise to crack down on ticketing touts.
Pressure for concrete actions to be taken to clamp down on the issue stems back to 2024, when the Labour Manifesto outlined how “access to music, drama and sport has become difficult and expensive because of ticket touting”, and the party promised to “put fans back at the heart of events by introducing new consumer protections on ticket resales”.
By November last year, the government announced its plan to introduce a price cap on secondary ticket sales in a bid to “protect fans from rip-off prices”, and on the day of that announcement Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told NME that the efforts would be outlined in the King’s Speech. From there, she explained, it would have to “pass both the Houses of Lords and Parliament to become law”.
“We promised that we would do this in our manifesto, and we promised that it was ‘how’ not ‘whether’ we would take action,” she told NME. “Once we have passed it, these new laws will come into force.”
Now, new research from Which? has found that if the government does not uphold its promise to protect music fans from ticket touts, the general public could potentially be fleeced out of £24million over the summer.
Without government intervention to clamp down on online touts, those buying tickets to see huge names like Ariana Grande, BTS, Harry Styles and more could be those most affected by reseller listings on StubHub and Viagogo.
For Harry Styles’ tickets alone, the findings show, touts could make £6.6million, and already tickets with a face value of £200 have been found listed for as much as £3,622. Tickets for BTS originally listed for £450 have been found on secondary sites for £4,872 and tickets for Ariana Grande at £135 originally are being spotted at over £2,800.
The average markup prices for these artists are tallied at 274 per cent for Grande, 312 per cent for BTS and 159 per cent for Styles.
Which? also outlines what while not all sellers on these sites are touts, those who are are expected to make up £18.5million of the total figure over the summer.
While Nandy suggested to NME that the legislation to crack down on professional touts would be included in next month’s King’s Speech – following pressure from Coldplay, Radiohead, Dua Lipa and more – there are now concerns that the topic has slipped down the government’s priority list.
This comes as Arts Minister Ian Murray told a meeting of Westminster’s Ticket Abuse APPG that plans to protect fans now may not feature in its programme of legislation set out by the Monarch.
In response, a coalition of fan and music industry groups across the country have written an open letter to the Prime Minister, pushing for him to deliver on his manifesto commitment to protect fans buying concert tickets.
“The predatory tactics used by touts, often operating overseas, are distorting the live events sector and causing significant harm to UK fans who are consistently excluded from attending shows due to exorbitant prices. Culture should be accessible to all,” the letter reads.
“Fans now need a parliamentary timetable that guarantees delivery of these important protections. Including the Bill in the King’s Speech is the only way to do so. Without this formal commitment, the public will see this as yet another Government U-turn.”
Already, signatures have come from management for huge artists including Arctic Monkeys, Ed Sheeran, Fontaines D.C., Keane, Nick Cave and Radiohead. Check out the list so far below.
AEG Presents
ATC Management (Radiohead, Nick Cave)
AXS Europe
Everybody’s (Keane)
Featured Artist Coalition
Fan Fair Alliance
Grumpy Old Management (Ed Sheeran)
Kilimanjaro Live
LIVE
Live Nation
Music Manager’s Forum
Music Venue Trust
National Arenas Association
O2
ROAM
Save Our Scene
Society of London Theatre & UK Theatre
Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers
The O2
Ticketmaster
UK Music
Which?
Wildlife Entertainment (Arctic Monkeys, Fontaines DC)
“Our research shows professional ticket touts are preparing to make millions this summer by exploiting true music fans – a reminder of why new laws for a price cap on ticket resales are so urgently needed,” said Lisa Webb, Which? Consumer Law Expert.
“The government promised to put fans first and make music and live events affordable for all. Backtracking on this promise without a clear timetable for legislation would be a gift to touts and a slap in the face for fans,” she added. “The Prime Minister must shut down online ticket touts for good by including price cap legislation in next month’s King’s Speech.”
Kate Nash has also called on fans to pressure the government to keep true on their promises, especially with a local election around the corner.
“The fan-led review of music has shown us the depth of feeling from fans when it comes to ticketing transparency. We’re all sick of paying too much for concert tickets,” she said in a new Instagram video.
“The government promised to listen to us by proposing new laws to combat all of this ticketing nonsense. Going back on this promise does two things: it shows us they don’t care about fans or diligent efforts being made within the music industry to tackle this issue,” she added.
“In the run up to the set of local elections, government, is this really the time for you to be making a u-turn on a public promise? The best way to avoid these kinds of accusations is to stick to your word and publicly commit to the promise that you made to put ticketing reform into the King’s Speech.”
The full findings from the Which? research will be available here on Friday (May 1), and was collected between October 2025 and February 2026 by analysing tickets listed on StubHub and Viagogo for live events across 66 artists.
All these artists have shows happening between April and September 2026, and the study took into account price, face value, quantity of tickets listed, seating information, and whether or not the reseller was a professional trader.
In response to the findings, a spokesperson for StubHub said: “As a marketplace, we do not set ticket prices. We provide a safe, trusted and transparent platform where sellers set the price of a ticket, and buyers decide their purchase price.
“Prices can fluctuate over time – and we find tickets listed at exceptionally high prices rarely sell – meaning that static reports don’t reflect actual sales. We are committed to keeping fans safe within the highly regulated UK market,” they added. “Independent analysis shows that price caps on ticket resales push fans towards unsafe alternatives, and if caps were to be adopted in the UK, it could result in a cost to consumers of £1.2 billion in fraud each year.”
Additionally, a spokesperson for Viagogo said: “Which?’s analysis focuses only on listing prices. In reality, completed sales often show tickets selling at or below face value. As of September 2025, nearly 30 per cent of UK events on Viagogo averaged under £50, and 84 per cent under £100.
“On our marketplace, sellers set the price and fans ultimately decide the ticket value that meets their budget. Demand will be at its peak when tickets hit the on-sale but it’s not a normal reflection of what tickets can and will go for,” they continued.
“Wildly inflated ticket listing prices outside the demand are not likely to sell at any point. In other markets where price caps exist, fans are left with one dominant primary platform. One solution to reduce ticket prices would be to introduce open ticketing in the UK, connecting primary sellers and resale platforms so tickets are verified and ownership is always updated.”
NME reached out to the government for comment about plans to follow through on the promise to ban touts, and seeking clarity on whether the topic will be addressed in the King’s Speech.
In response, a spokesperson stated: “Ticket touts are a blight on the live events industry, causing misery for millions of fans. We set out decisive plans last year to stamp out touting once and for all, and we are committed to delivering on these for the benefit of fans and industry.”
They also outlined that the efforts to clamp down on touts and high resale prices requires new primary legislation, and they are exploring all potential avenues to deliver this at the earliest opportunity. They stated that they cannot comment on the contents of the upcoming King’s Speech.
When the UK government confirmed plans to enforce a ban on selling secondary tickets for a profit, it outlined that new rules will make it illegal to re-sell tickets for live music, sports, comedy and theatre events above original cost. This would make re-sold gig tickets roughly £37 cheaper on average and collectively save fans £112million per year.
Massive fees from secondary ticket sellers will also be stamped out.
“Finally, we’re here,” Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told NME at the time of the announcement. “We promised when we were elected that it would be time up for ticket touts. It’s a good day.”
Explaining the finer details of what it means for gig-goers, she continued: “People will obviously be able to re-sell their tickets, but not for any more than the price they paid for it. They’ll have to sell it at face value.
“You do get lots of people who later find that they can’t go to a gig or sporting event, and we want to make sure that they can still sell their ticket. They won’t be able to add on any more money than they paid, but they will be able to get their money back.”
Meanwhile, at the start of the year it was announced that live music venues in the UK would be getting government support, following backlash to plans to introduce devastating business rates, and also that a new ethical ticket resale platform was to be launched in partnership with the Music Venue Trust.
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