Ticket Reselling for Profit to Be Banned in U.K. After Letter Signed by Dua Lipa, Coldplay and More

A new law is set to be introduced in the United Kingdom that will outlaw the reselling of tickets for concerts, sports events, theater, and comedy shows at prices higher than their original value. This legislative move comes in direct response to a powerful campaign led by a group of major UK artists, such as Dua Lipa, Coldplay, and Sam Fender, who publicly called for government intervention to protect audiences from being overcharged.

The official proposal is expected to be unveiled by ministers this Wednesday, as reported by BBC News. Under the new rules, individuals who are unable to attend a performance will still be allowed to resell their tickets, but they cannot ask for more than the initial face value. The plan also targets a sharp reduction in supplementary fees. According to estimates from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, these changes are projected to cut the average resale ticket price by £37 ($48), saving consumers approximately £112 million ($137 million) each year. Legal enforcement will fall squarely on resale platforms to guarantee compliance.

Momentum for the ban surged last Thursday when an open letter signed by artists including The Cure and Radiohead was delivered to Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The musicians pressed the Prime Minister to honor his commitment to tackle ticket touts—a promise originally made when a government review of ticketing was initiated earlier this year. They contended that such a measure was essential to "restore faith in the ticketing system" and "help democratize public access to the arts." This reflects a broader cultural concern about keeping live entertainment accessible, especially as live music revenue in the UK has grown significantly in recent years, reaching over £2 billion annually before the pandemic.

Recent high-demand tours have placed the issue of ticket resale under intense public and regulatory scrutiny. For example, tickets for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and the recently announced Oasis reunion were resold for thousands of pounds, far above their original price. The overwhelming demand for Oasis tickets even prompted the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority to open an investigation into whether Ticketmaster—the global ticketing giant that dominates the market—complied with consumer law. As one industry analyst noted, "When fans are consistently shut out by speculative resellers, it damages the entire live events ecosystem." This regulatory attention underscores the urgent need for reform in a secondary market that often sidelines genuine supporters.