The British government has announced that it wants to look into the practice of “dynamic pricing” which has led to a surge in ticket prices for Oasis’ comeback tour, much to the dismay of fans. The iconic Britpop band announced they are reuniting for a series of concerts in the UK and Ireland in summer 2025, which has sparked a phenomenal response, 15 years after Oasis split up.
But on Saturday, after often waiting for hours on ticket sales platforms, including the giant Ticketmaster UK, many fans were unpleasantly surprised to be offered tickets much more expensive than the prices announced before they went on sale. Some tickets initially listed at around £150 (€178) were offered at more than £350.
Ticketmaster in the spotlight
Faced with the outcry, Culture Minister Lisa Nandy promised Sunday evening that the government would examine this practice known as dynamic pricing, widely used for the purchase of plane tickets, for example, and which is developing in music. This consists of adjusting the sale price in real time to consumer demand: the stronger the demand for a given product, the higher the price.
The minister judged “deeply depressing to see grossly inflated prices, which deprive ordinary fans of any chance of enjoying their favourite band live”She said she wanted to work towards establishing a system “fairer”The government will include the “transparency and use of dynamic pricing issues” during a planned consultation on consumer protection, she promised.
Accused of being responsible, Ticketmaster UK defended itself on Saturday by claiming that “the organizer” of the tour, namely the promoters and the artists, had chosen to fix the prices of the tickets “according to their market value”thus validating the application of dynamic pricing. Before Oasis, a controversy had already accompanied the sale of tickets by Ticketmaster for the 2023 tour of the American singer Bruce Springsteen in the United States. Due to dynamic pricing, some tickets had been sold for several thousand dollars.
