Olivia Dean, the rising British singer-songwriter, has forced a seismic shift in the live music ticketing world after a very public battle with Ticketmaster and AXS over sky-high resale prices. Fans of Dean’s North American tour, some of whom were shocked to see tickets listed for more than 14 times their original price—soaring above $1,000 (£750)—will now receive partial refunds, and future resales will be capped at face value. This rare victory for music lovers comes after Dean’s pointed criticism of the ticketing giants and a broader reckoning in the industry about the ethics of secondary ticket markets.
The controversy erupted in late November 2025, when Dean discovered that tickets for her highly anticipated tour were being resold at astronomical prices. According to BBC News, Dean penned an open letter to Ticketmaster and AXS, calling the practice “disgusting” and “vile,” and urging them to “do better.” She didn’t mince words, stating on Instagram, “The secondary ticket market is an exploitative and unregulated space and we as an industry have a responsibility to protect people and our community.”
Dean’s outrage wasn’t just about her own fans. She highlighted a systemic problem in the live music business, where touts (scalpers) snap up tickets using bots and resell them at exorbitant prices, often out of reach for genuine fans. “Touts steal from artists and they steal from fans. They create inequality and hysteria,” she wrote in a follow-up message. Her stance echoed a growing frustration among both artists and audiences, who feel the excitement of live shows is being undermined by profiteering middlemen.
The ticketing companies, under mounting pressure, responded swiftly. On November 26, 2025, Ticketmaster announced it would not only cap all future resale prices for Dean’s tour but also refund fans for any markup they had already paid to resellers on Ticketmaster. Michael Rapino, CEO of Ticketmaster’s parent company Live Nation Entertainment, said in a statement, “We share Olivia’s desire to keep live music accessible and ensure fans have the best access to affordable tickets. While we can’t require other marketplaces to honour artists’ resale preferences, we echo Olivia’s call to ‘do better’ and have taken steps to lead by example.”
This policy shift means that tickets for Dean’s tour can now only be resold at their original purchase value—a system called Face Value Exchange (FVE). According to CBC News, fans who already bought overpriced resale tickets will be partially refunded for the difference between what they paid and the ticket’s face value. Ticketmaster clarified, “Ticketmaster does not receive the markup on those tickets but is stepping in to absorb this refund cost for fans.”
Dean’s campaign for fairness was not just about her own shows. She argued that “every artist and their team should be granted the option to cap resale at face value ahead of [tickets going] on sale, to keep the live music space accessible for all.” She thanked her fans for their patience, writing, “I’m looking forward to seeing all you real humans at the show.”
While Ticketmaster and AXS do offer the ability for artists to cap resale prices—artists like Hayley Williams and Chappell Roan have used this option before—it appears Dean’s team was not able to exercise that control before her tour’s tickets initially went on sale. This oversight, and the resulting backlash, has prompted a wider discussion about the responsibilities of ticketing platforms and the rights of artists to protect their fans.
The issue isn’t limited to one artist or one country. The UK government, responding to similar complaints from the likes of Coldplay and Dua Lipa, recently confirmed plans to make it illegal to resell tickets for concerts, theatre, comedy, sports, and other live events for more than their original cost. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, British culture secretary Lisa Nandy said, “For too long, ticket touts have ripped off fans, using bots to snap up batches of tickets and resell them at sky-high prices. They’ve become a shadow industry on resale sites, acting without consequence.” The government expects the move will save fans a combined £112 million (about $146 million) per year.
Meanwhile, in the United States, Ticketmaster and Live Nation have come under scrutiny from regulators as well. In September 2025, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit accusing the companies of “illegal ticket resale tactics,” adding another layer of urgency to the debate over how tickets are sold and resold.
Industry experts say Ticketmaster’s choice to refund the difference to concertgoers who overpaid is a novel response. Catherine Moore, a professor at the University of Toronto specializing in the music business, told CBC News, “Ticketmaster is getting a lot of scrutiny now from ticket-buyers, government regulators, and music artists. As a company, they are now faced with deciding whether or not the increased revenue they get through operating in the secondary-ticket market offsets the reputational harm.”
Interestingly, the data from Dean’s tour offers a glimmer of hope for fans. According to Live Nation, less than 20% of tickets were listed for resale, suggesting that “genuine fans” managed to secure the majority of seats. Still, even a small proportion of tickets being resold at inflated prices was enough to spark outrage and force change.
Dean’s activism has resonated across the music world. Her insistence that “live is a sacred space we have crafted over 10 years” and her willingness to lose money on shows to create meaningful experiences for fans struck a chord. “We always do our best to make those spaces safe and accessible to everybody,” she wrote, underscoring the emotional and communal value of concerts that goes far beyond profit margins.
For Ticketmaster and the broader ticketing industry, Dean’s victory could mark a turning point. As more artists demand control over how their tickets are resold and more governments move to regulate the secondary market, the days of unchecked profiteering may be numbered. But for now, fans of Olivia Dean can celebrate a rare win: fairer prices, a little more access, and the knowledge that their voices—amplified by a determined artist—can make a difference.
