The Cure’s Robert Smith says the band have cancelled 7,000 tickets on secondary resale websites

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The Cure‘s Robert Smith has confirmed the band have cancelled 7,000 tickets found on secondary resale websites in a bid to tackle touts.

As part of the on-sale process for their forthcoming North American tour, the frontman opted out of Ticketmaster’s “platinum” and “dynamically priced” ticket options, and restricted ticket transfers in markets where he was legally allowed to do so in places like New York, Illinois, and Colorado, which have all enacted legislation protecting resellers.

Following the band’s move to do this, Smith tonight (March 31) announced: “Approx 7k tickets across approx 2200 orders have been cancelled. These are tickets acquired with fake accounts / listed on secondary resale sites.”

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Earlier today he also warned ticket buyers from attempting to circumvent ticket transfer rules.

“OFFERING TO SELL/SEND ACCOUNT LOGIN DETAILS TO GET AROUND TM TRANSFER LIMITATIONS… ANY/ALL TICKETS OBTAINED IN THIS WAY WILL BE CANCELED, AND ORIGINAL FEES PAID ON THOSE TICKETS WILL NOT BE REFUNDED,” Smith added.

“..ORIGINAL FEES PAID ON THOSE TICKETS WILL BE DONATED TO AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, AND THE TICKETS THEMSELVES WILL BE RESOLD TO FANS.”

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The Cure singer has taken Ticketmaster to task in recent weeks over its “unduly high” service fees for tickets to his band’s upcoming North American tour. Some fans claimed that Ticketmaster fees, including service fee, facility charge and order processing fee, exceeded the price of the actual tickets.

Earlier this month Smith persuaded Ticketmaster to issue small refunds to verified ticket buyers over the “unduly high” service fees.

He wrote on Twitter on March 16 following the launch of The Cure’s US tour tickets: “After further conversation, Ticketmaster have agreed with us that many of the fees being charged are unduly high, and as a gesture of goodwill have offered a $10 per ticket refund to all verified fan accounts for Lowest Ticket Price (‘LTP’) transactions.”

The band announced a 30-date tour across the US, which is set to kick off at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on May 10 before closing out at the Miami-Dade Arena in Florida on July 1, earlier this month.

In related news, Neil Young has now weighed in on the current state of touring following Ticketmaster’s controversy with The Cure.

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Taylor Swift has street re-named after her ahead of Arlington shows

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Taylor Swift has had a street re-named after her ahead of her shows which kick off in Arlington tonight (March 31).

The singer-songwriter is set to perform three concerts in a row at the AT&T Stadium in the Texas city as part of her North American ‘Eras Tour’.

To celebrate her arrival “Taylor Swift Way” has temporarily replaced Random Mill Road and the city is set to light up its four story steel sculptures in front of city hall red from today through to Sunday (April 2).

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Swift will also be presented with a key to the city by Mayor Jim Ross.

A statement released by the local government, with plenty of word play on Swift’s songs, said: “Arlington is ‘Enchanted’ to welcome Taylor Swift back to AT&T Stadium for The Eras Tour this weekend and has put together some fun ways for our Swifties to celebrate the singer’s fifth visit to The American Dream City.

“‘Long Story Short’, Arlington knows the tens of thousands of fans heading to the Entertainment District this weekend will have ‘The Best Day’ ever while attending The Eras Tour in The American Dream City.”

It comes following an eventful tour which has already seen Swift responding to a letter from a seven-year-old fan in the audience, dedicating ‘Our Song’ to support act Beabadoobee, and giving a shout-out to Lana Del Rey before giving their collaboration ‘Snow On The Beach’ its live debut.

A couple even got married mid-show at the second gig in Glendale, Arizona while the singer-songwriter also quietly made “generous” donations to local food banks in the cities where she performed as part of her ‘Eras Tour’.

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Arlington acknowledged some of the gestures to the singer in other cities by stating: “Arlington is participating in a friendly competition with other U.S. cities hosting The Eras Tour to demonstrate its ‘Reputation’ as one of Swift’s biggest fans. We don’t have any ‘Bad Blood’ with Las Vegas, which recently lit its Gateway Arches in colors that correspond with Swift’s various musical eras, but never in our ‘Wildest Dreams’ would we go so far as to ‘Change’ Arlington’s name as our friends in Glendale, Ariz., did when it rebranded as Swift City.”

The shows have seen the singer treat fans to a 44-track, career-spanning set that lasts over three hours.

Each night, the concert has incorporated a different “surprise acoustic song” or two. Among the rarities to have been aired so far are ‘Mirrorball’, ‘This Is Me Trying’, State Of Grace’ and ‘Cowboy Like Me’ (featuring special guest Marcus Mumford).

Earlier today, Swift also shared an acoustic version of her recent single ‘Lavender Haze’.

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Three men arrested over Tekashi 6ix9ine assault in Florida gym

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Three men have been arrested in connection with an alleged assault on Tekashi 6ix9ine at a South Florida gym earlier this month.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office claims Rafael Medina Jr., 43, Octavious Medina, 23, and Anthony Maldonado, 25, assaulted and robbed the rapper at about 8.45pm local time on March 21 at Lake Worth’s L.A. Fitness, according to The Associated Press.

The assault left the rapper, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, with several injuries to his face and bruising from the incident, his lawyer Lance Lazzaro previously said.

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“Employees heard the disturbance and the perpetrators fled,” Lazzaro added at the time. “Police in South Florida were called and he was transported via ambulance to a local hospital.”

Tekashi 6ix9ine CREDIT: Johnny Nunez/Getty Images

He was taken to a hospital but his injuries were not considered life-threatening, officials added. The three suspects were arrested in connection with the assault last night (March 30).

Video footage of the alleged attack has since emerged online.

The alleged assault comes after 6ix9ine was previously convicted after pleading guilty to his involvement with the Nine Trey Bloods gang, which included charges ranging from drug trafficking to firearm offences. In December 2019 he was sentenced to 24 months in prison but served a few months after a judge granted him a motion for compassionate release over his COVID health risks.

Hernandez’s lawyer said at the time that he planned to ensure that the rapper got some protection after he was released from federal prison in April 2020.

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Meanwhile, in the last year Hernandez has released new music including ‘GINÉ’ and ‘ZAZA‘.

Both tracks followed his 2021 releases ‘Gooba’,‘Trollz’,‘Yaya’ and ‘Punani’, which all appeared on his second album ‘TattleTales’ .

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Tyler, the Creator shares new song ‘Wharf Talk’ featuring A$AP Rocky

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Tyler, the Creator has shared another new song from the deluxe edition of ‘Call Me If You Get Lost’, this time featuring A$AP Rocky.

The track, ‘Wharf Talk’, is the third the rapper has shared this week after the release of ‘Dogtooth’ and ‘Sorry Not Sorry’. You can watch his self-directed video for the song below.

The clip sees the rapper going on an invisible date before he meets up with Rocky.

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Announcing the new collection entitled ‘Call Me If You Get Lost: The Estate Sale’ on Twitter earlier this week, which came out today (March 31), Tyler explained that he had “a lot of songs” left over from the LP. “Some of those songs I really love, and knew they would never see the light of day, so I’ve decided to put a few of them out,” he added.

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In a four-star review of the original album, NME wrote: “The record stands as an all-encompassing culmination of Tyler’s ever-varying sound, showing that growth isn’t always linear and that artists can be a multitude of things.

“On ‘Call Me…’, Tyler cements his place as a generational talent, one in fine form and continuing to push the boundaries of his vision and kaleidoscopic sound.”

Tyler, The Creator took home the Best Rap Album award for ‘Call Me If You Get Lost’ at the Grammys 2022.

You can listen to ‘Call Me If You Get Lost: The Estate Sale’ below.

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Meanwhile, Tyler recently shared the life-changing career advice that Pharrell Williams once gave him in a teaser for new docuseries RapCaviar Presents which premiered on Hulu in the US yesterday (March 30).

The show tackles issues of today through the stories of hip-hop artists, including Tyler, Jack Harlow, Polo G, City Girls, Roddy Ricch, Coi Leray and more. A release date for the docuseries in the UK has not yet been announced.

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Judge rules Nick Carter can countersue rape accuser

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A judge has ruled that Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter can countersue a woman who has accused him of rape.

Accusations against Carter first arose last year, when a civil lawsuit was filed stating that the singer allegedly raped a 17-year-old fan on his tour bus in 2001.

The allegations were made by Shannon Ruth, now aged 43, who stated that Carter handed her a drink which she believes contained a mix of cranberry juice and alcohol, before attacking her on the tour bus.

She claimed that she encountered the singer when approaching him for an autograph after a Backstreet Boys show in Tacoma, Washington. She also stated that she remained quiet following the assault as she feared retaliation.

Carter has since denied all accusations made against him and filed a counter-suit against Ruth earlier this year.

Backstreet Boys performs during the DNA World Tour 2023 at Allianz Parque on January 27, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The singer’s counterclaim alleged that Ruth was part of a conspiracy to defame and extort the singer, and that she was recruited by the family of another woman who accused Carter of sexual assault.

Ruth’s complaint also allegedly cost the band at least $2.35 million (£1.93million) between December and February due to the cancellation of promotional events, according to the counterclaim.

Following a hearing in Las Vegas on Wednesday (March 29), a judge ruled that the Backstreet Boys singer can pursue his countersuit against Ruth despite her lawyers arguing that the countersuit violated Nevada’s anti-SLAPP law – a statute designed to prevent lawsuits filed in an effort to stifle free speech, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Judge Nancy Allf denied that an anti-SLAPP motion was necessary and allowed Carter’s own case to go ahead.

The latest development comes after Carter previously claimed that a dozen witnesses can back him up against his ongoing accusations of sexual assault.

He reportedly said that the witnesses gathered were all present at the show, and include a talent manager, security personnel and fans.

For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.

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