Rage Against The Machine has implemented their own plan to fight scalpers ahead of their forthcoming reunion tour.

The group caused some noise in the industry when they announced a 40-date Public Service Announcement reunion tour this year – their first trek in almost ten years. However, tickets are already up-for-grabs on the secondary market before the tour officially heads on sale Thursday, February 13. Tickets were already available on StubHub, with a pair of tickets for a gig in Oakland adding up to almost $400 each.

Yesterday, the group shared a statement on their website regarding scalpers and brokers sharing fake tickets, noting that “we want to do everything we can to protect our fans from predatory scalping” and “up to 50% of the seating is scooped up by scalpers and then resold to fans at much higher fees.”

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“We are doing everything we can to protect 90% of the RATM tickets from scalpers and then WE are holding in reserve 10% of the seating (random seats throughout each venue) to sell at a higher price (but low enough to undercut the scalpers),” the band said. “We will donate 100% OF THE MONEY over the base ticket price to charities and activist organizations in each city.

“We are confident this will help many more fans get tickets at face value and put a big dent in the aftermarket gouging. WE HATE SCALPING AS MUCH AS YOU DO and will continue to try and find ways to combat it. Additionally, we are donating all profits from our first three shows to immigrants’ rights organizations and will be supporting multiple charities and activist organizations throughout the tour.”

Holding back tickets and selling them at inflated prices has been a long-known practice of many artists – either using Ticketmaster’s “Platinum” branding on seats that are otherwise identical to others in the same section, or selling them through secondary marketplaces, such as what Metallica’s management admitted to doing on its WorldWired Tour and numerous other artists have been long-rumored to engage in to maximize tour profits.

Vocalist Zack De La Rocha, guitarist Tom Morello, drummer Brad Wilk, and bassist Tim Commerford will join forces for the Public Service Announcement Tour, kicking-off with several shows surrounding their Coachella appearances, followed by a 2020 installment across the country throughout the summer. The group last released Renegades in 2000 before breaking up.

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