UK Government Ticketmaster and other online sellers will investigate their dynamic pricing strategy after tickets for the Oasis reunion tour nearly tripled in price due to high demand from fans trying to get seats for the summer 2025 shows.
After millions of fans endured long virtual waits and multiple website crashes as they tried to secure tickets for the long-awaited reunion tour, another blow was that general admission tickets listed on the pre-sale for £150 ($197) were long gone by Saturday morning. Instead, new tickets, called “In Demand Standing,” were available for more than £400 ($525).
The increase is part of a controversial pricing strategy by Ticketmaster and others that causes ticket prices to fluctuate wildly when there is high demand for a particular show. In recent years, the strategy has sparked outrage among fans trying to secure tickets to see Bruce Springsteen and other artists. (A Ticketmaster spokesperson previously said the company had no problem selling concert tickets.) Rolling Stone “Organizers and artist representatives determine the pricing strategy and price range criteria for all tickets, including dynamic and fixed price points.”
In the wake of the Oasis ticket scandal, UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told the BBC that the government plans to investigate companies' use of dynamic pricing to prevent “fraudulent resales” and ensure tickets are sold at “fair prices”. Nandy said it was “disappointing to see wildly inflated prices denying ordinary fans the chance to enjoy their favourite band live”.
Nandy said the government had already held a meeting to discuss ticket resale sites and their practices in the fall, with dynamic pricing now a focal point of the talks.
Nandy was not the only official to condemn the practice. Labour MP David Baines said: “It is shocking to hear that Ticketmaster UK is now using ‘dynamic pricing’ to rip off fans and raise money… [and it’s] Regina Doherty, the official in Dublin, said the Irish governing body should also investigate.
Oasis is highly anticipated to be on a reunion tour, and in an effort to protect fans from price gouging (some tickets are listed for $8,300 on resale sites), the band has said that only tickets purchased on the primary market or at face value for a ticket exchange through Ticketmaster will be accepted.
The band posted on the X website: “Tickets sold in violation of the terms and conditions will be cancelled by the organizers.”
The Oasis reunion comes 15 years after their dramatic split in 2009. “The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned. The long wait is over. Come and see. It won't be televised,” the band said in a statement about their comeback.
