Ticketmaster’s Dynamic Pricing Faces U.K. Government Investigation After Oasis Reunion Tour Sale
The U.K. Government will investigate Ticketmaster and other online sellers’ dynamic pricing strategy after Oasis reunion tour tickets nearly tripled in price due to the large demand of fans trying to nab seats to the summer 2025 shows.
After millions of fans endured long virtual wait times and multiple site crashes while trying to secure tickets to the much-anticipated reunion tour, it was a further blow that general admission tickets listed in the pre-sale for ￡150 ($197) had long disappeared by Saturday morning. Instead, new tickets called “In Demand Standing” were available for upwards of ￡400 ($525).
The hike is part of Ticketmaster and others’ controversial pricing strategy that causes ticket prices to fluctuate dramatically when there is high demand for a particular show. In recent years, it’s prompted outrage among fans when trying to secure tickets to see Bruce Springsteen and other artists. (A spokesperson for Ticketmaster previously told Rolling Stone that “promoters and artist representatives set pricing strategy and price range parameters on all tickets, including dynamic and fixed price points.”)
Following the Oasis ticket fiasco, U.K. culture minister Lisa Nandy told the BBC that the government plans to investigate companies’ use of dynamic pricing to stave off “rip-off resales” and ensure tickets are sold “at fair prices.” It was “depressing,” Nandy said, “to see vastly inflated prices excluding ordinary fans from having a chance of enjoying their favorite band live.”
The government already had a meeting on the books to discuss ticket resale websites and their practices in the fall, Nandy said, with dynamic pricing now becoming a focal point of the talks.
Nandy wasn’t the only official to decry the practice. Labour MP David Baines said it was “shocking to hear that Ticketmaster UK are now using ‘dynamic pricing’ to fleece fans and rake in the cash … [and it’s] especially insulting for those who have queued all day.” And Dublin official Regina Doherty said Ireland’s governing body should also investigate the matter.
Oasis’ reunion tour is highly anticipated, and in an effort to protect fans from price-gouging scalpers (some tickets listed for $8,300 on resale sites), the band said only tickets bought on the primary market or at face value ticket exchange through Ticketmaster will be honored.
“Tickets sold in breach of the terms and conditions will be canceled by the promoters,” the band posted on X.
Oasis’ reuniting comes 15 years after their dramatic breakup in 2009. “The guns have fallen silent,” the band said in a statement about the comeback. “The stars have aligned. The great wait is over. Come see. It will not be televised.”
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