Tom Grennan wants to keep things affordable (Picture: Matt Crossick/Global/Shutterstock)
Tom Grennan has hit out at artists who overcharge for concert tickets.
The 27-year-old star will embark on the His What Ifs and Maybes tour next year, with tickets priced at £30.50, and the Not Over Yet hitmaker, without naming names, has slammed music stars who have upped their ticket prices excessively to ‘crazy high’ levels amid these economically-challenging times.
Speaking at Capital’s Jingle Bell Ball with Barclaycard at The O2 in London, he told The Sun: ‘I brought prices down as much as I could. I want people to have fun and leave the worries at home rather than not be able to pay a bill.’
He’s been vocal about his desire to keep things affordable for fans, and in early October he responded to praise from fans for his low prices, explaining that he has ‘dismissed’ more expensive options such as VIP tickets, as the ‘pinch is real’ and he wishes more artists would do the same.
The Sky Blues singer tweeted: ‘Trust me we’ve worked hard to pull the cost of ticket down, and dismissed all VIP and platinum ticket options as it’s just bo***** in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.
Later that month, he appeared on Lorraine and was asked by host Christine Lampard about his fight to keep prices down.
Tom has been praised for his commitment to the paying customer (Picture: David Fisher/Shutterstock)
‘I am aware of where everyone is at right now and I saw loads of artists putting tickets out that are way too expensive for the times that we are in,’ Grennan said.
‘I just want people to come to the shows and not worry the next day if they need to eat or pay bills. They should come and have fun and let their hair down for a night.’
His comments come after comedian Peter Kay was keen to keep ticket prices as low as he could for his ongoing comeback tour.
Peter Kay also wanted to keep costs low for fans (Picture: ShowBizIreland/Getty Images)
‘It’s good to get back to what I love doing best, stand-up comedy and if there’s ever a time people need a laugh it’s now,’ the funnyman said as he announced the dates for 2022 and beyond.
‘And with the cost of living at an all-time high, ticket prices are starting from £35. The same price they were on my previous tour in 2010.’
There is generally high demand for tickets since the Covid-19 pandemic, and things have gotten so bad that Taylor Swift’s fans are suing Ticketmaster for alleged ‘price fixing’ and ‘fraud’.
The ticket sale for Taylor Swift’s tour sparked controversy (Picture: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for MTV)
Following the ticket-buying debacle for the superstar’s North American Eras tour, which saw Ticketmaster cancel the general sale due to high demand and insufficient ticket inventory – for which it apologised – a number of fans are now suing the company.
According to TMZ, the company has been accused of ‘fraud, price fixing and antitrust violations’, as well as ‘intentional deception’, after scalpers scooped up a large number of tickets.
The lawsuit claims that because Ticketmaster is involved in both the primary ticket sale market as well as the secondary market, they were ‘eager to allow’ scalpers into the presale event.
Its parent company Live Nation issued a lengthy statement, stating that it ‘does not engage in behaviours that could justify antitrust litigation, let alone orders that would require it to alter fundamental business practices.’
Their statement claimed that Ticketmaster is ‘the most transparent and fan-friendly ticketing system in the United States’ and ‘does not set or control ticket prices’ but ‘strongly advocates for all-in pricing so that fans are not surprised by what tickets really cost’.
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The singer has been vocal about his desire to keep things low.
