The UK government is to investigate ticketing website Ticketmaster’s “dynamic pricing” practices for Oasis’ reunion tour after prices were found to be “inflated”.
Tickets to see Oasis reunite live and the Gallagher brothers return to the same stage went on sale Saturday morning. Online giant Ticketmaster, according to Politico, kept raising prices as people waited in line for hours.
“Dynamic pricing” adjusts prices based on demand, and while it’s standard practice in the US for high-demand concerts, it’s recently been adopted in the UK, pushing up prices.
According to the announcement by the British government, it will be investigated whether the “dynamic pricing” measure was used appropriately. Tickets for the Noel and Liam Gallagher concert went on sale on Saturday morning, but the online platform Ticketmaster kept increasing the prices, even every 5 minutes: tickets were initially advertised for £148.50 (€176), but after a few hours they jumped to £355.20 (422 euros)!
Oasis fans were immediately outraged and the government decided to step in and investigate Ticketmaster’s controversial dynamic pricing practice, Culture Minister Lisa Nandy has announced.
In a statement, Nandy said it was “disappointing to see grossly inflated prices that exclude classic fans” and that he wanted to crack down on “misleading resales”. He also wanted to ensure tickets were sold at “fair prices”. He confirmed that he had already prepared a report on ticket discounts and consumer protection, which also includes dynamic pricing.
Labour MP Lucy Powell was dismayed by the ticketing fiasco. “There’s a queue for a queue,” she wrote to X on Saturday morning. Eventually, she managed to buy a ticket for the show – but for more than double the original price.
The issue has also raised concerns among authorities in neighbouring Ireland, with the deputy prime minister speaking of shocking prices as a result of the platform’s practices. The competent consumer protection authority has been called upon to immediately investigate the complaints and determine whether action should be taken.
However, the company reportedly showed no intention of apologizing, insisting that dynamic pricing will become an increasingly common phenomenon in European markets as well.
Furthermore, despite the protests, tickets sold out immediately and all concerts are now sold out.
The tour schedule
July:
4/7- Cardiff, Principality Stadium
5/7- Cardiff, Principality Stadium
7/11 – Manchester, Heaton Park
07/12-Manchester, Heaton Park
19/7-Manchester, Heaton Park
20/7-Manchester, Heaton Park
25/7- London, Wembley Stadium
26/7- London, Wembley Stadium
August:
2/8 – London, Wembley Stadium
3/8- London, Wembley Stadium
8/8- Edinburgh, Scotland Gus Murrayfield Stadium
08/09 – Edinburgh, Scotland Gus Murrayfield Stadium
16/8- Dublin, Croke Park
17/8- Dublin, Croke Park