British breakout star Olivia Dean is calling out major ticketing giants after seeing seats for her newly-announced “Art of Loving Live” 2026 tour being resold online for massively inflated prices.
Dean—whose single “Man I Need” has recently climbed into the Billboard Hot 100 Top 5—took to Instagram Friday morning, just hours after general tickets went on sale, expressing frustration over what she described as a broken ticketing system and a lack of regulation on the secondary market.
“You Are Providing a Disgusting Service”
In her Instagram story, Dean didn’t hold back.
“I’m sorry that there seems to be an issue with ticket re-selling and pricing,” she wrote. “My team are currently looking into it. It is extremely frustrating as the last thing I want is for anyone to be scammed or overcharged for our show.”
She then directly tagged @ticketmaster @livenation @aegpresents, accusing them of allowing excessive resale markups:
“You are providing a disgusting service. The prices at which you’re allowing tickets to be re-sold is vile and completely against our wishes. Live music should be affordable and accessible. BE BETTER.”
Fans across X (Twitter) and Instagram reported waiting behind tens of thousands of people in digital queues, only to discover that “verified resale” tickets were immediately listed for hundreds of dollars above face value.
Ticketmaster Responds, AEG Removes Resale Listings
Ticketmaster acknowledged Dean’s criticism by reposting her message to its official Instagram and stated:
“We support artists’ ability to set the terms of how their tickets are sold and resold. We will cap resale prices at face value and hope other resale sites will follow.”
A spokesperson for AEG told U.S. media outlets that the company quickly shut down resale for the one Olivia Dean show they were promoting—her upcoming performance at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles—after noticing “price irregularities” on the secondary market.
“We have been vocal in our support of legislation that protects artists and fans alike,” AEG added.
As of Friday afternoon, resale listings for Dean’s tour had been pulled or deactivated across all major sites.
A Larger Fight in the U.S. Ticketing System
Dean’s pushback comes as America continues to debate the power and practices of major ticketing operators.
Ticketmaster and Live Nation have been under scrutiny following recent federal investigations and mounting public pressure from both fans and artists demanding more transparency and better regulation of the secondary market.
High resale markups—sometimes as high as 300–500%—have become a widespread frustration for U.S. concertgoers, especially following the Taylor Swift “Eras Tour” ticketing meltdown in 2022, which prompted Congressional hearings.
Fans Want Fair Prices — and Artists Are Speaking Up
With her rising popularity in the U.S., Dean’s criticism adds weight to a growing industry conversation: How can live music remain accessible when resale prices spiral out of control?
Her message to fans was clear: she wants them in the room, not priced out of it.