Raye, the award-winning British singer, said ticket touts had "overwhelmed" the sign-up process for her upcoming Royal Albert Hall performance after 1.8 million people registered interest for just 5,000 seats.
The scale of demand — vastly outstripping the available tickets — has fuelled frustration among fans and renewed scrutiny of the secondary ticketing market. Raye’s comments highlight the increasingly common complaint that automated buying and resale operations can lock genuine fans out of high-demand events.
The episode comes amid a wider debate about how to protect consumers from scalping and ensure fair access to live events. Artists, venues and lawmakers in several countries have in recent years expressed concern about sophisticated resale practices that use bots and bulk-buying tactics to capture tickets before ordinary buyers can complete purchases.
It was not immediately clear what immediate steps, if any, would be taken to address the situation for Raye’s show. The incident underscores ongoing pressure on ticketing platforms, venues and regulators to tighten controls and find systems that better guarantee access for real fans rather than professional resellers.