Oasis tour: After fan anger, UK government wants ‘fairer’ concert fees

British authorities are tightening the screws on concert ticket sales. Following the chaotic sale of tickets for Oasis’ return tour, Keir Starmer’s government will look into concert ticket sales methods, including the practice of “dynamic pricing”, which has led to soaring prices and hundreds of complaints from outraged fans.

Oasis announced last week that they would be reuniting for a series of concerts in the UK and Ireland in summer 2025, sparking huge buzz 15 years after the iconic Britpop band split up.

“Disgust”

On social media, thousands of outraged fans expressed their “disgust”, some denouncing a “scam”. By Monday, hundreds had filed complaints with the British advertising regulator.

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 said it was “deeply depressing to see grossly inflated prices that deprive ordinary fans of any chance of enjoying their favourite band on stage”. She said she wanted to work towards a “fairer” system. The government would include “issues of transparency and the use of dynamic pricing” in a planned consultation on consumer protection, she promised.

The review will also look at “queueing systems” put in place by the platforms, following the setbacks reported by fans during the sale, a spokesman for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday. “Pricing strategies are obviously a matter for event organisers and sales platforms, but clearly, they must comply with the legislation in force,” he insisted. Its advocates argue that dynamic pricing helps combat those who buy tickets and then resell them at very high prices.

450 complaints

Accused of being responsible, Ticketmaster UK defended itself on Saturday by stating that the “organizer” of the tour, namely the promoters and the artists, had chosen to set the prices “according to their market value”, thus validating the application of dynamic pricing.

On Monday, the British advertising regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), said it had received 450 complaints from consumers claiming that “the platform’s ads contained misleading information about the availability and price” of tickets. “We are looking closely at these complaints,” the ASA told AFP, adding that no formal investigation had been opened at this stage.

In Ireland, Deputy Prime Minister Michael Martin denounced “abusive prices” on Sunday, with some tickets selling in the country for more than 400 euros.

Before Oasis, there had already been controversy surrounding the sale of tickets by Ticketmaster for the 2023 tour of American singer Bruce Springsteen in the United States. Due to dynamic pricing, some tickets had been sold for several thousand dollars. In the United States, Live Nation Entertainment, Ticketmaster’s parent company since its merger with the platform in 2010, is in the government’s sights, accused of anti-competitive practices.