Ticketmaster Cancels Fake Accounts for Harry Styles NYC Shows
Ticketmaster has said it has identified and cancelled tickets linked to alleged tout activity targeting Harry Styles’ upcoming New York residency at Madison Square Garden, in a move the company says is aimed at getting seats back to genuine fans at face value.
The Standard reported that Ticketmaster identified a number of fake accounts buying tickets for Styles’ Madison Square Garden residency and cancelled those tickets before they were transferred, with plans to release them back to fans at the original price.
In a statement shared on its social media channels on behalf of company president Mr Saumil Mehta, Ticketmaster said it had “caught scalpers using multiple accounts and fake identities” to get around ticket limits and resell tickets for profit. The company said the cancelled tickets would be made available again, adding that “it’s important for these tickets to go to real fans”.
The platform said ticket prices set by the tour ranged from 50 US dollars (about £37) to 130 dollars (about £96) including fees, and argued that touts tend to target the lowest-priced and most in-demand seats to maximise mark-ups. The development comes amid continued scrutiny of the resale market, and follows earlier fan complaints around inflated secondary listings for other artists, while Styles’ tour dates continue to draw intense demand after his run of major awards and headline performances.
For fans, the key question now is how quickly the cancelled inventory is reissued and whether further anti-tout measures are introduced for remaining sale phases, as promoters and ticketing firms face growing pressure to show that enforcement steps lead to more tickets reaching genuine buyers.
