Robert Smith Pledges to keep The Cure’s North American Tour Tickets Affordable and Thwart Scalpers — Plus No Dynamic Ticket Pricing

Robert Smith of The Cure has made it clear that he wants fans to have access to affordable tickets for each of the 30 dates of the band’s much-anticipated North American tour. In a social media statement, Smith confirmed that The Cure would not use dynamic pricing, a strategy borrowed from ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft that artificially raises prices during peak demand periods. Additionally, he pledged to “stop scalpers from getting in the way.”

In promising a “very wide” and “fair” range of pricing at every show, it seems that Smith is good on his word. Long-running Fansite Chain of Flowers has reported that the band’s concerts ticket prices start at $21.25 in Tampa, and in Vancouver at $25, with higher tiered prices yet to be announced. Additionally, via the Chain of Flowers Twitter account, a screenshot was shared displaying that the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, has tickets listed as ranging from $40 to $150.

Smith continued with his trademark caps lock manifesto, also explaining that ticketing partners have agreed not to allow fans to transfer their tickets electronically, which will impede the ability to resell them and, thus, hopefully, hinder attempts at scalping. However, in the case that fans do need to sell their tickets, they’ll be able to do so only at face value through the sellers’ ticket exchanges. This does pose an enforcement problem in several states, particularly in New York, Illinois, and Colorado. “They actually have laws in place that protect scalpers!” Smith lamented.

To get navigate this problem, Smith urges fans “to buy or sell tickets to one another on face value exchanges like twickets.live and cashortrade.org.”

Read the statement in full below:

“WE WANT THE TOUR TO BE AFFORDABLE FOR ALL FANS, AND WE HAVE A VERY WIDE (AND WE THINK VERY FAIR) RANGE OF PRICING AT EVERY SHOW. OUR TICKETING PARTNERS HAVE AGREED TO HELP US STOP SCALPERS FROM GETTING IN THE WAY; TO HELP MINIMISE RESALE AND KEEP PRICES AT FACE VALUE, TICKETS FOR THIS TOUR WILL NOT BE TRANSFERABLE. IF SOMETHING COMES UP THAT PREVENTS A FAN FROM BEING ABLE TO USE A TICKET THEY HAVE PURCHASED, THEY WILL BE ABLE TO RESELL IT ON A FACE VALUE TICKET EXCHANGE.

UNFORTUNATELY, DESPITE OUR DESIRE TO PROTECT OUR LOW TICKET PRICES FOR FANS, THE STATES OF NY, IL AND CO MAKE THIS VERY DIFFICULT — THEY ACTUALLY HAVE LAWS IN PLACE THAT PROTECT SCALPERS! FOR SHOWS IN THESE STATES WE URGE FANS TO BUY OR SELL TICKETS TO ONE ANOTHER ON FACE VALUE TICKET EXCHANGES LIKE TWICKETS.LIVE AND CASHORTRADE.ORG. FANS SHOULD AVOID BUYING TICKETS THAT ARE BEING RESOLD AT INFLATED PRICES BY SCALPERS, AND THE SITES THAT HOST THESE SCALPERS SHOULD REFRAIN FROM RESELLING TICKETS FOR OUR SHOWS.”

Following reports of some prices being north of $300, Smith also stated that no tickets are yet on sale for the North American tour, so any listings on resell sites “are very likely to be fake.” He added that in the case that any of those the tickets listed on those resale sites are found to be legitimate, “we will work with Ticketmaster to cancel them.”

Registration is open now for The Cure’s Ticketmaster Verified Fan Sale, which begins Wednesday, the 15th of March. (This will require pre-registration to access.) There is a limit of five shows per registration. Registration closes at 10 a.m. Pacific Monday, the 13th of March.

You can find more details here.

The Cure 2023 North American Tour dates:

May 10: New Orleans, LA — Smoothie King Center
May 12: Houston, TX — Toyota Center
May 13: Dallas, TX — Dos Equis Pavilion
May 14: Austin, TX — Moody Center
May 16: Albuquerque, NM — Isleta Amphitheater
May 18: Phoenix, AZ — Desert Diamond Arena
May 20: San Diego, CA — NICU Amphitheatre
May 23: Los Angeles, CA — Hollywood Bowl
May 24: Los Angeles, CA — Hollywood Bowl
May 25: Los Angeles, CA — Hollywood Bowl
May 27: San Francisco, CA — Shoreline Amphitheatre
June 1: Seattle, WA — Climate Pledge Arena
June 2: Vancouver, BC — Rogers Arena
June 4: Salt Lake City, UT — Vivint Smart Home Arena
June 6: Denver, CO — Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
June 8: Minneapolis St. Paul, MN — Xcel Energy Center
June 10: Chicago, IL — United Center
June 11: Cleveland, OH — Blossom Music Center
June 13: Detroit, MI — Pine Knob Music Theatre
June 14: Toronto, ON — Budweiser Stage
June 16: Montreal, QC — Bell Centre
June 18: Boston, MA — Xfinity Center
June 20: New York, NY — Madison Square Garden
June 21: New York, NY — Madison Square Garden
June 22: New York, NY — Madison Square Garden
June 24: Philadelphia, PA — Wells Fargo Center
June 25: Columbia, MD — Merriweather Post Pavilion
June 27: Atlanta, GA — State Farm Arena
June 29: Tampa, FL — Amalie Arena
July 1: Miami, FL — Miami-Dade Arena