Arcade Fire's lead singer was accused of sexual misconduct. Why can't fans get ticket refunds?

WARNING: This article contains content about sexual assault and may affect those who have experienced​ ​​​sexual violence or know someone affected by it.

When tickets to Arcade Fire's tour dates went on sale in May, Adam Lazarus quickly snatched up a pair for himself and his wife. Both were huge fans of the Canadian rock band, which rose to supernova status in the early-2000s with a critically acclaimed sound and a global audience.

"At this moment in the pandemic, I was really excited that they were coming back. I liked the new album a lot and wanted to go see it as a celebration," the Toronto theatre professor told CBC News.

But just a few months later, music publication Pitchfork reported that Arcade Fire's lead singer, Win Butler, had been accused of sexual misconduct by four people. A fifth allegation was published by the same outlet this week.

As the band's two opening acts — first Leslie Feist, then Beck — left the tour, Lazarus and other fans quickly made a decision to get a refund on their tickets. 

But they couldn't, because the ticket retailers, tour promoters, and even Arcade Fire itself aren't offering refunds to the wider public.

"If Win Butler wanted to do the right thing, he should have said, anyone who feels uncomfortable being in that room, I'm giving you a refund," said Lazarus, who has tried to get a refund for months to no avail.

With the band's Canadian leg set to kick off on Friday in Vancouver, Ticketmaster and Live Nation have kept mum as fans call on them to offer ticket refunds, with several fans telling CBC News that they felt uneasy attending the concert knowing of Butler's alleged sexual misconduct.

Pitchfork's initial report detailed stories about Butler from three women and one gender-fluid person. All were fans of Arcade Fire during the period they were in contact with him.

The three women said they had sexual interactions with Butler — in a timeline stretching from 2016 to 2020 — that they "came to feel were inappropriate given the gaps in age, power dynamics, and context in which they occurred."  The fourth person said Butler sexually assaulted them twice in 2015.

Butler apologized for causing hurt but denied the allegations, saying that he has never touched a woman against her will. 

Arcade Fire did not respond to CBC's request for comment. CBC could not independently verify the allegations as reported by Pitchfork.

The band has five concerts scheduled in Canada between Nov. 25 and Dec. 3, with a single show scheduled in Vancouver, Edmonton and Montreal, and two shows scheduled in Toronto.

While there's no official avenue to get a refund, several ticketholders contacted by CBC News said that they had successfully refunded their tickets in quiet social media exchanges with Ticketmaster, Live Nation and its subsidiaries — but only after causing a ruckus online.