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\n\tA group of more than 40 British musicians, including Radiohead<\/a>, Dua Lipa<\/a>, and Coldplay<\/a>, have signed a statement<\/a> to the U.K. government asking Prime Minister Keir Starmer<\/a> to honor his pledge to tackle \u201cextortionate and pernicious\u201d websites that resell concert tickets. <\/p>\n \n\tIn the statement, artists like Sam Fender, PJ Harvey, The Cure\u2019s Robert Smith, Iron Maiden, New Order, and Nick Cave asked the government to take action against \u201csecondary ticketing\u201d platforms like Viagogo and StubHub<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cFor 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,\u201d they wrote. \u201cThis erodes trust in the live events sector and undermines the efforts of artists and organizers to make shows accessible and affordable.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe statement asks for a hard cap on on resale prices to \u201chelp 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.\u201d <\/p>\n \n\tOther signees include organizations like UK Music, FanFair Alliance, and the Football Supporters\u2019 Association. The letter, created in tandem with a study from consumer group Which?, notes that the end of for-profit resale would make it \u201ceasier for fans to spot illegal behavior\u201d and would not encourage fans to seek resale tickets on less regulated sites. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cToday\u2019s joint statement makes clear that artists, fan organizations and consumers reject the broken ticketing market that has allowed touts to thrive for too long,\u201d Lisa Webb, Which? consumer law expert, said in a statement alongside the letter. \u201cThe 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\u2019s Speech.\u00a0Further 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.\u201d<\/p>\n