Thousands of Oasis fans waited for hours in virtual queues this weekend to get tickets for the British band’s reunion concerts next summer, only to find that prices had been raised under a “dynamic pricing system.”
Many fans who waited for more than three hours, thinking they would pay the original advertised price of £148.50 (about 264 Canadian dollars), ended up paying only £355.20 (631 Canadian dollars).
What is dynamic pricing?
Dynamic pricing, also called surge pricing, is a strategy where companies increase their prices during periods of high demand. This is often seen in airline ticket prices and hotel room rates during holiday seasons, as well as Uber surge pricing during peak travel times.
Who is responsible for dynamic pricing?
According to Ticketmaster, the artist or promoter is responsible for determining the number of tickets and face value price. They can opt for dynamic pricing if they wish, which will be implemented once Ticketmaster receives approval.
The agency representing Oasis did not immediately comment.
Is dynamic pricing legal?
Although dynamic pricing may seem unfair to customers, it is considered legal as long as the company complies with laws and regulations on price transparency, consumer protection and fair competition.
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Why was it introduced?
Ticketmaster first introduced dynamic pricing in 2022, explaining that the practice was used to stop ticket scalpers, according to the BBC. Scalpers are people who purchase multiple tickets to resell them later for a profit.
In the UK, the marketplaces Viagogo and StubHub are the two main websites for secondary ticket sales. Ticketmaster closed its resale sites GetMeIn and Seatwave in 2018 following persistent criticism of ticket resale by black marketeers.
Which artists decided to participate or not?
According to the BBC, dynamic pricing was used in the UK for sales by Harry Styles, Coldplay and Blackpink.
Bruce Springsteen gave Live Nation the green light to introduce dynamic pricing for his tour dates last year, the BBC reported. Taylor Swift decided against introducing dynamic pricing for her The Eras tour.
How are affected governments reacting to Oasis ticket sales?
Following the Oasis ticket sales, the British government said on Sunday it would investigate why prices for concert tickets sold through official websites are being increased when demand is high.
Culture Minister Lisa Nandy said it was “depressing to see the grossly inflated prices” on authorised retailers’ websites.
The government will include issues of transparency and the use of dynamic pricing in an already planned review of ticket sales and consumer protection.
“The Competition and Markets Authority is urgently reviewing recent developments in the ticketing market, including the way in which dynamic pricing is being used in the primary market,” the UK antitrust authority said on September 3.
Dublin MEP Regina Doherty has called for an investigation into Ticketmaster by the Irish Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC).
The CCPC believes there are legitimate concerns about consumers’ experiences this weekend and is reviewing the situation, a spokesperson said. It will explore all options to ensure consumer protection law is complied with.
Another Irish MEP, Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, a member of the EU Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO), said she would call on the European Commission to investigate the situation.
What is the attitude of other governments?
For years, concert fans and politicians in many countries have been calling for an investigation into Live Nation’s purchase of Ticketmaster in 2010.
This situation worsened after the ticket seller botched the sale of Swift’s first concert tour in years in 2022, forcing fans to wait in online queues for hours and charging prices that customers said were too high.
The U.S. Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit in April against Live Nation LYV.N and its ticket sales unit Ticketmaster for allegedly monopolizing markets in the live concert industry.
Last year, the European Commission said it was monitoring dynamic pricing and stressed that EU law prohibits dominant companies from enforcing excessively high prices.
Back in 2019, the Canadian antitrust authority fined Ticketmaster $4.5 million for misleading customers. An investigation had found that additional fees that were not disclosed to customers in advance could increase the advertised price of online tickets by 20 to 65 percent.
Since then, Ticketmaster has been required in Canada to display the face value price together with all associated fees (so-called all-in pricing).
Dynamic pricing for concert tickets has not yet been seriously investigated by the authorities in Canada.
