Get the latest gossip

James Blake vows to avoid "the monopolies" for touring: "I'm not having my fans ripped off by people who don't care the way we do about live music"

James Blake has vowed to avoid "the monopolies" that come with touring and ticket sales, outlining a proposed new approach going forward.

The electronic producer and musician voiced his views around the numerous issues that prevent tickets from getting into the hands of fans – including mailing lists controlled by external companies, hidden fees and social media algorithms. In an attempt to tackle the problem, Blake explained that he’d be working with a new platform called bside – which describes itself as a “more transparent and artist-centric model” – for his upcoming piano shows in North America. Earlier this year, Blake revealed that he’s now an independent artist, speaking at the time about wanting to “take things into my own hands” while adding that he was looking forward to working more “directly” with his fans.

Get the Android app