Billie Eilish fans have called out the US pop star after it emerged that standing tickets to her forthcoming arena shows were being sold for £145 each.

Pre-sale tickets to the singer’s Hit Me Hard and Soft tour became available between 30 April to 1 May, including early access for American Express card members.

The 22-year-old will be performing a string of dates in the UK and Ireland next year, including five nights at the O2 Arena in London, two nights in Glasgow, four in Manchester and two in Dublin.

In press material announcing the tour, it was revealed that Eilish’s team had chosen to use Ticketmaster’s Face Value Exchange, meaning fans have the option to resell tickets to other fans in the US or Canada if they are no longer able to attend themselves.

“The tour wants to give fans, not scalpers, the best chance to buy tickets at face value,” the statement said.

As tickets went on sale, however, many fans were dismayed to learn how much they were priced at, with many branding the sum “ridiculous” in the midst of a cost of living crisis.

“I honestly wanted more Billie tickets but £145 for standing is so ridiculous I can’t even process it,” one fan wrote on X/Twitter.

“£145 for Billie Eilish tickets does she not know there’s a cost of living [crisis] happening in the UK,” fan Zoe said.

Billie Eilish is going on tour this autumn, and will perform in the UK and Ireland next year (Getty Images)
Another remarked: “Me coming onto Ticketmaster seeing Billie Eilish prices then coming straight back out again. £145 for standing is this delusion?” In the replies, the fan compared the price to the first time she saw Eilish live, when she paid £20 for a ticket.

Not everyone had sympathy for fans though, as some said it was their choice to pay that much for a ticket.

X/Twitter user Billy asked: “At what point do people realise they’re being conned and priced out. If you’re buying tickets at that price then honestly you’re part of the problem now.”

Matt, the writer behind the Scientists of Sound music blog, agreed: “People paying nearly £145 for Billie Eilish tickets are part of the problem. When these venues sell out at these prices artists and promoters couldn’t care less as they’re getting away with it. Fans are being completely priced out of these events and it’s only getting worse.”

One fan, who preferred to remain anonymous, told The Independent that buying tickets to concerts often felt like an “online war”, with fans feeling pressured into paying extortionate sums or else risk missing out.

“Artists and ticketing companies know that their fans will pay any amount of money to see their favourite artists,” he said, “and it’s only getting worse because fandoms are so strong. At what point does it go too far? This feels pretty close.”

At what point does it go too far? This feels pretty close

A Billie Eilish fan on her ticket tour prices

Confirming he had paid £146 for a standing ticket at the newly built Co-op Live arena in Manchester, the fan admitted he felt exploited.

“I go to quite a few gigs a year, [and] whenever it comes to the bigger shows you’re looking at a minimum of £70 or £80,” he said. “I paid £110 for standing to see Taylor Swift at Wembley, which actually feels like a bit of a bargain now.”

The fan said that artist exploitation went beyond concert tickets: “I’ve got into collecting vinyl recently and didn’t realise how many variants there are per album with exclusive songs or photos or whatever it might be. These artists know that their fans want every version because they love them so much. It just feels unfair.”

Jason Burt bought tickets for his 14-year-old daughter and said they were around the same price they paid for Eilish’s last tour, “but slightly less than I did for [Bruce] Springsteen this time last year”.

“The price is, in my opinion, excessive, despite the fact she will be thrilled by the concert,” he said. “[My daughter] is aware of the cost and appreciates how lucky she is to be able to go.”

Billie Eilish performs on the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury (Joel Ryan/AP) (AP)
Mr Burt said there was “definitely an element of exploitation” involved with artists of Eilish’s size, but questioned how much involvement the artists themselves had in deciding ticket prices.

He also pointed out the other ways in which artists are able to generate revenue from their fans: “If you have 30+ formats of an album, for example, there is an implicit understanding that some fans will buy all of them, which in turns pushes its chart position exponentially,” he said.

“Similarly, merch at gigs. Some will want all of it. As a parent, I wouldn’t buy it all and i’m lucky my daughter has no interest in that level of ‘completism’, but I’m sure it puts pressure on parents at a time we can least afford it.”

A representative for Eilish declined to comment when contacted by The Independent.

Eilish recently hit out at major artists making “40 different vinyl packages that have a different unique thing ust to get you to keep buying more”, branding the practice “wasteful”.

She was later forced to clarify that she was not calling out fellow pop star Taylor Swift, who had recently announced a number of different versions of her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department.

Taylor Swift released a number of different editions of her latest album (AP)
“I wasn’t singling anyone out, these are industry-wide systemic issues. and when it comes to variants, so many artists release them, including ME! Which I clearly state in the article,” Eilish wrote on Instagram.

“The climate crisis is now and it’s about all of us being part of the problem and trying to do better sheesh.”