Coldplay, Dua Lipa, Radiohead and Sam Fender lead calls for PM to honour pledge for ticket resale price cap
For years, genuine fans have been fleeced or priced out of events by touts using bots to buy tickets in bulk the moment they go on sale, which they can then sell on for huge mark-ups on secondary ticketing websites like Viagogo and Stubhub.
The Labour manifesto promised stronger consumer protections and the government has since pledged to cap resale prices to shut out the online touts - but more than a year after it first promised action, and seven months since its consultation on the issue closed, there has been no clear indication of when new laws will be introduced.
Now, dozens of artists who have had enough of seeing their fans exploited are leading calls for the PM to commit to price cap legislation in the next King’s Speech.
The list includes some of the world’s best known acts, including recent Glastonbury headliners Coldplay, Dua Lipa and The Cure’s Robert Smith. Rock, metal and alternative legends Radiohead, New Order, Mark Knopfler, Iron Maiden and PJ Harvey and this year’s Mercury Prize winner Sam Fender also feature.
They have signed a joint statement, along with Which?, FanFair Alliance, O2, the Football Supporters’ Association and organisations representing the music and theatre industries, venues, managers and ticket retailers.
In the statement, the coalition says new protections are needed to “help fix elements of the extortionate and pernicious secondary ticketing market that serve the interests of touts, whose exploitative practices are preventing genuine fans from accessing the music, theatre and sports they love.”
It adds: “For too long certain resale platforms have allowed touts to bulk buy and then resell tickets at inflated prices, forcing fans to either pay above the odds or miss out entirely. This erodes trust in the live events sector and undermines the efforts of artists and organisers to make shows accessible and affordable.
“Introducing a cap will restore faith in the ticketing system, help democratise public access to the arts in line with the Government’s agenda and make it easier for fans to spot illegal behaviour, such as ticketing fraud.”
The statement comes as a new investigation from Which? lifts the lid on global touting operations targeting the weak links in the UK’s broken ticketing industry.
The consumer champion found prolific sellers in locations including Brazil, Dubai, Singapore, Spain and the US, hoovering up tickets for popular events in the UK, before relisting them at vastly inflated prices on Stubhub and Viagogo.
Oasis tickets for Wembley Stadium shows were listed for £3,498.85 on Stubhub and £4,442 on Viagogo. A seat for the Minnesota Vikings vs Cleveland Browns NFL clash at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was listed for £3,568.39 on Stubhub, while a Coldplay ticket, also for Wembley Stadium, was £814.52 on Stubhub. The most extreme example Which? found was a ticket for the All Points East festival in London’s Victoria Park, headlined by Raye, listed for £114,666 on Viagogo.
It was often difficult for buyers to establish the seller’s identity or to contact them. That is despite the CMA securing a court order in 2018 requiring Viagogo to outline the identity of traders.
Which? also found evidence of speculative selling - when tickets are listed on secondary sites even though the seller has not bought them yet. Tickets for a Busted vs McFly show in Glasgow, which were available via Ticketmaster - the original seller - were simultaneously being listed on Stubhub and Viagogo at double the price.
Lisa Webb, Which? Consumer Law Expert, said:
“Today’s joint statement makes clear that artists, fan organisations and consumers reject the broken ticketing market that has allowed touts to thrive for too long.
“The Prime Minister pledged to protect fans and a price cap on resold tickets will be a critical step towards fixing this industry, but he must commit to this legislation by including it in the next King’s Speech.
“Further reforms are also needed to ensure sellers actually own the tickets they advertise before listing them, that resale platforms ensure the identities of sellers and key information about a ticket are verified and that the new rules are effectively enforced.”
Adam Webb, Campaign Manager, FanFair Alliance, said:
“FanFair Alliance has campaigned against the exploitative activities of online ticket touts since 2016. Operating via under-regulated offshore resale platforms, their parasitical and frequently unlawful practices cost UK ticket buyers hundreds of millions of pounds each year.
“The only pragmatic way to address this problem is through a cap on ticket resale prices - a measure that has been adopted successfully in a number of other countries, including Ireland and Australia.”
Annabella Coldrick, Chief Executive, Music Managers Forum, said:
“A clampdown on online ticket touting should be celebrated by anyone who enjoys live music. It was our members who started the FanFair Alliance campaign in order to protect fans from exploitation, and I am not surprised to see so many well-known artists come out in support of a price cap.
“It is imperative this legislation is part of the next King’s Speech. The UK is rightly renowned for our live music culture, and our audiences deserve the best-in-class when it comes to ticketing.”
UK Music Chief Executive Tom Kiehl said:
“UK Music fully supports a ticket resale price cap to support all those music lovers who have felt forced to pay exorbitant prices on the secondary market.
“We are calling on the Government to swiftly deliver on its pre-election promise to bring in a price cap. It’s high time we delivered for the fans who are the lifeblood of our industry and drove ticket touts out of business once and for all.”
-ENDS-
Notes to Editors:
Which? has today published a joint statement with artists, managers and fan groups to call on the Prime Minister to honour Labour’s 2024 manifesto pledge and cap resale ticket prices. Signatories include:
Artists: Alfa Mist, alt-J, Aluna Francis, Amy Macdonald, Andro, Bastille, Ben Howard, Brix Smith, Charlotte OC, Coldplay, Dana Margolin (Porridge Radio), Dua Lipa, Graeme Park, Howard Jones, Idlewild, Iron Maiden, Johnny Marr, Keane, Kelli-Leigh, Low Island, Mark Knopfler, Mogwai, New Order, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Nick Mason, Nubiyan Twist, Orlando Higginbottom, PJ Harvey, Quantic, Radiohead, Revenge of Calculon, Robert Mitchell, Robert Smith (The Cure), Sam Fender, SNAYX, Sweetie Irie, The New Eves, Travis
Organisations: Fan Fair Alliance, Featured Artists Coalition, Football Supporters Association, LIVE, Music Managers' Forum, Music Venue Trust, Musicians’ Union, O2, Society of London Theatre & UK Theatre, Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers (STAR), UK Music, Which?
Methodology:
In August and September 2025, Which? looked into traders selling tickets for some of the biggest UK events on Stubhub and Viagogo.
Customer case study - Nick Lewis’s experience with Viagogo:
Nick Lewis spent over £500 on Viagogo for standing tickets for a Coldplay Wembley Stadium concert in September as a surprise for his wife’s 40th birthday. In July, Viagogo notified him the tickets were invalid due to an incorrect upload by the seller and promised like-for-like replacement tickets before the event.
On the day of the concert, having received no tickets despite assurances of a replacement, Nick and his wife traveled from Oxfordshire while continuously ringing Viagogo. They endured long, tedious waits and inconsistent information for several hours. A link finally arrived, which offered replacements behind the stage or at the top - not the promised standing tickets. As Nick put it, these were “basically the worst seats you can imagine.”
After refreshing the link, standing tickets appeared briefly; Nick selected them and boarded the train after spending over £75 on transport, only to be told en route they were invalid and cancelled. Viagogo refunded the ticket cost but provided no compensation for travel. Nick missed the concert and described his experience with Viagogo as "shocking", adding that he will "never use them again". Nick’s ordeal sheds light on the broken state of the UK’s ticketing industry and the urgent need for reform.
Viagogo apologised for Nick’s experience. Fans are protected by its guarantee, which offers fans replacement tickets or their money back if they don't receive tickets in time for the event. It says it has over a 99% success rate for ticket entry and 24/7 customer service support in the rare instance of an issue. ‘As this is an unusual issue, we are investigating this further internally,’ it added.
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Right of replies:
Viagogo told us most of its sellers use its platform to sell a few tickets they can no longer use.
As of September 2025, nearly 30% of events in the UK for 2025 YTD had an average ticket price under £50 on Viagogo and 84% had an average ticket price under £100. For Oasis, the average ticket price two weeks before their first show in Cardiff was £255. It told us that the highest prices on its platform, by default, have not sold.
Viagogo said it's fully compliant with the CMA's regulations, including providing professional sellers' information. Any sellers found to be in breach will face consequences including penalties and platform removal.
It prohibits and will remove speculative listings from its platform. Sellers found to be in breach of its policy will be permanently suspended from using its platform. It says transparency is its priority and rejects any suggestion that it misleads users. Its website discloses that it’s the largest secondary marketplace for tickets to live events.
Viagogo strongly opposes the use of illegal bots to buy tickets from primary sellers. It prohibits sellers from listing tickets that have been purchased illegally, including through bots.
Stubhub International told us it is committed to providing fans with a safe, trusted and transparent marketplace to buy and sell tickets, and is fully compliant with UK regulations.
It said speculative listings are not allowed and will be removed from its platform. It’s since removed the McFly vs Busted speculative listing we included in our article.
It does not condone the use of bots and says more enforcement is necessary. It offers a 100% money back guarantee and human-led customer service.
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