Robert Smith thinks dynamic ticket pricing is just a way to “scam” fans.
The 65-year-old punk rock star was “shocked” at the profit that can be made by sell-out tours and insisted that artists don’t “need” to generate the kind of money that such ventures often pull in as he spoke out against the practice of allowing businesses to adjust ticket prices in real-time based on factors such as demand.
He told The Sunday Times: “I was shocked by how much profit is made.
“I thought, ‘We don’t need to make all this money.’ My fights with the label have all been about how we can price things lower. The only reason you’d charge more for a gig is if you were worried that it was the last time you would be able to sell a T-shirt.
“But if you had the self-belief that you’re still going to be here in a year’s time, you’d want the show to be great so people come back. You don’t want to charge as much as the market will let you. If people save on the tickets, they buy beer or merch. There is goodwill, they will come back next time. It is a self-fulfilling good vibe and I don’t understand why more people don’t do it.
“It was easy to set ticket prices, but you need to be pig-headed. We didn’t allow dynamic pricing because it’s a scam that would disappear if every artist said, ‘I don’t want that!’ But most artists hide behind management. ‘Oh, we didn’t know,’ they say. They all know. If they say they do not, they’re either f***ing stupid or lying. It’s just driven by greed.”
The Just Like Heaven rocker – who is the only remaining continuous member of The Cure – joked that he might be coming across as a “curmudgeon” but insisted that the modern world of live concerts has become about “branding and sponsorship” above all else.
He said: “It’s insane. It’s greed, inequality, monetisation. I’ve realised some of my reactions to the modern world are a bit extreme, that I’m becoming an old grouch and that it’s easy to tip over to talking about the fond memories of a world that’s disappeared … but there are moments I just want to leave the front door shut!
“It’s become about branding, sponsorship and betting — it’s just hair, tattoos and selling stuff. This is really curmudgeonly.”
