Olivia Dean has called out Ticketmaster, Live Nation and AEG over “vile” re-sale ticket prices to her upcoming US tour.
- READ MORE: Olivia Dean – ‘The Art of Loving’ review: musings on love from a star risen
Tickets for some additional dates for Dean’s 2026 US tour went on sale yesterday (November 21), but were very quickly listed for re-sale on some sites.
Around four hours after the tickets went on sale, the singer took to her Instagram story to complain of high prices on re-sale tickets, writing: “[Ticketmaster], [Live Nation], [AEG]: You are providing a disgusting service. The prices at which you’re allowing tickets to be re-sold is vile and completely against our wishes.
“Live music should be affordable and accessible, and we need to find a new way of making that possible,” she continued. “BE BETTER.”
It came an hour after another Instagram story, which read: “I’m sorry that there seems to be an issue with ticket re-selling and pricing. My team are currently looking into it. It is extremely frustrating as the last thing I want is for anyone to be scammed or overcharged for our show. Please be wary buying tickets in the comment sections as it is most likely a scam.”
Ticketmaster quickly responded to Dean’s complaint on X, writing: “We support artists’ ability to set the terms of how their tickets are sold and resold,” it said. “We will cap resale prices on our site at face value and hope other resale sites will follow.”
Olivia Dean calls out Ticketmaster, Live Nation & AEG Presents over concert ticket issues:
“you are providing a disgusting service. the prices at which you’re allowing tickets to be re-sold is vile and completely against our wishes. live music should be affordable and… pic.twitter.com/xdDBQC0a76
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) November 21, 2025
We support artists’ ability to set the terms of how their tickets are sold and resold. We’re capping resale prices for Olivia Dean’s tour on our site at face value and hope other resale sites will follow. pic.twitter.com/QsefnXCvNC
— Ticketmaster (@Ticketmaster) November 22, 2025
Dean’s comments come only days after the UK government announced they would be making it illegal to re-sell tickets for live music, sports, comedy and theatre events above original cost – making re-sold gig tickets roughly £37 cheaper on average and collectively saving fans £112million per year. Massive fees from secondary ticket sellers will also be stamped out.
Restricting ticket touts was one of the Labour government’s election pledges, and in January, they announced that they would impose a price cap on how much touts can re-sell tickets for, as well as an official consultation into the industry and controversial ‘dynamic pricing’ practices.
The aforementioned consultation ran from January 10 until April 4. However, as of last week, these changes had yet to be implemented.
In response, artists such as Radiohead, Sam Fender, Dua Lipa, Coldplay, The Cure‘s Robert Smith, Iron Maiden, PJ Harvey, New Order and Mark Knopfler issued a statement, publicly calling on the government to keep the pledge they made. This prompted the government to make an official announcement on Wednesday (November 19).
As for Dean, her tour dates follow the release of her second album, ‘The Art of Loving‘, the success of which saw her become the first female solo artist to ever have four singles in the Official Charts UK Top 10 simultaneously late last month.
Dean’s latest record scored a four-star review from NME, with Hannah Mylrea comparing her to musicians like RAYE and Sam Fender: “British artists who’ve ascended to bigger and bigger stages, crafting music that while sonically is in their own lanes, is filled with honest lyricism coming from a distinct voice.
“As Dean prepares for her own sold-out arena tours – and with her tracks soaring up the UK charts – this record comes to cement her place. With it, marks the next chapter in Dean’s career, one as a popstar risen.”
Next year, she’s headed on a UK and European tour, which includes four dates at London’s O2 Arena. You can find a full list of dates, as well as all ticket information, here.
