Ticketmaster says it ‘caught’ Harry Styles tour ticket touts
By Lauren Del Fabbro, Press Association Entertainment Reporter
Ticketmaster has said it has “caught” ticket touts, people who buy tickets to resell them at a higher price, for Harry Styles’ tour.
The ticket platform said on Wednesday that it had identified a number of fake accounts buying tickets for Styles’ New York residency at Madison Square Garden for his upcoming Together Together tour.
Ticketmaster said it is working with the pop star’s team to sell the tickets back to fans at face value.
A statement shared on the company’s social media accounts, on behalf of its president, Saumil Mehta, said: “We caught scalpers using multiple accounts and fake identities to try and get around ticket limits and resell tickets for profit.
“We’ve cancelled those tickets, none of which had been transferred to fans, and we are working with the tour to release them back to fans at the original price.
“It’s important for these tickets to go to real fans.”
The ticketing platform said the prices set by the tour varied in price from 50 US dollars (€42.70) up to 130 dollars (€111) including fees.
The statement continued: “Scalpers often target the tickets that are the lowest price and/or super in-demand so they can flip them for the biggest markup.
“This this impacts many tours and Harry’s residency was a huge target.”
Ticketmaster has said fans can now request a ticket for the concert. Those who do not currently have a ticket for the NYC show will be prioritised.
It comes after singer Olivia Dean slammed the ticket resale market as “exploitative” after securing partial refunds for fans from Ticketmaster after they were reportedly put on ticketing platforms at above face value.
Styles rose to fame as a member of One Direction – alongside Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson – after the group was formed on ITV singing competition The X Factor in 2010.
He launched his solo career after he and his bandmates went on hiatus in 2016, almost a year after Malik left the group, and he has gone on to achieve global success, winning multiple Grammy and Brit awards.
The 32-year-old singer released his fourth record Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally in March followed by a global tour, Together Together, with dates in London, Amsterdam, New York, Sao Paulo, Mexico City, Melbourne and Sydney from May.
