Oasis fans are reflecting angrily on their experiences trying to buy tickets for the band’s highly anticipated reunion tour, and the British government is now preparing to take action.
The UK government has announced it will investigate companies’ use of “dynamic pricing” for live events after concertgoers accused Beverly Hills-based Ticketmaster of ripping them off to see the recently revived band perform.
In a statement to the Times on Tuesday, UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy promised she would include “issues around transparency and the use of dynamic pricing, including the technology around queuing systems that encourage it” in Parliament’s upcoming consultation on consumer protection in ticket resale.
“After the incredible news of Oasis’ return, it is depressing to see the grossly inflated prices denying ordinary fans the chance to enjoy their favourite band live,” Nandy said in her statement.
Last month, estranged brothers and musicians Noel and Liam Gallagher announced they were reuniting as Oasis after 15 years apart. The “Wonderwall” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger” hitmakers will play 17 shows next summer at venues in Cardiff, Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Dublin.
When tickets for the British rock band’s comeback tour went on sale over the weekend, customers complained on social media about having to wait for hours in Ticketmaster’s overcrowded online queue – only to be denied entry or faced unreasonably high prices.
Some fans accused Live Nation’s company of actively raising ticket prices during the sale due to customer demand. X User Screenshots posted of their fight, claiming that standing room ticket prices had been increased from £149 (about $195) to £355 (about $465) before the events sold out.
Representatives for Ticketmaster and Live Nation did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Some screenshots of the Ticketmaster website shared on social media show an info box justifying the controversial price of a so-called “In Demand Standing Ticket.”
“The organizer has set the price of these tickets according to their market value,” the description says, noting that “availability and price are subject to change.”
A parliamentary consultation on secondary ticketing and dynamic pricing in the live event business is due to begin in the autumn. The consultation will consider various approaches to regulating ticket prices, including capping the price of resold tickets at a standardised percentage of the original price or limiting the number of tickets a single party can resell.
In the US, Live Nation and Ticketmaster are currently under increasing antitrust scrutiny. The Justice Department sued the company earlier this year in an attempt to break up the market-dominating concert promoter and ticket seller. The merged company was accused of monopolistic business practices.
