Oasis reunion tour: CMA launches official government enquiry into dynamic surge ticket pricing
The controversial use of dynamic pricing, sometimes known as ‘surge pricing’, for the Oasis reunion is to be investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
Tickets for the 2025 stadium tour went on sale on Saturday (August 31) and promptly sold out at 7pm but some fans found they were priced out of tickets when they went to buy them, as the use of dynamic pricing meant the cost of tickets would go up or down without warning based on demand.
This led to some fans who had been in the queue the entire day paying £355 for a ticket which was originally £135 when it came to confirm their purchase.
Ticketmaster have clarified on their website previously that tickets that are “market-priced” “may increase or decrease at any time, based on demand. This is similar to how airline tickets and hotel rooms are sold.”
The controversy led Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to call for a review into dynamic pricing and secondary ticket sales, while Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the price hikes “depressing” at Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday (September 4). In addition, the European Commission is also now investigating the issue.
Now, the CMA have said through the official Government website that they will scrutinise “whether the sale of Oasis tickets by Ticketmaster may have breached consumer protection law”.
Their investigation will consider whether Ticketmaster has engaged in illegal commercial practices, whether or not people were given “clear and timely information” about the use of dynamic pricing and what it involves, and whether people were pressured to buy tickets in a short period of time at a higher price than they were prepared to pay.
The CMA will be engaging with Ticketmaster and gathering evidence from other sources, which may include Oasis’ management and the organisers of the reunion tour. They are also looking to hear from fans who have evidence of their experiences when trying to buy Oasis tickets, which they can do so here.
Some experts have claimed that Ticketmaster may have breached consumer protection law by not warning Oasis fans about their use of dynamic pricing.
NME has reached out to Ticketmaster for comment.
The band recently issued a statement on the fiasco, saying they were unaware that the ticket prices would increase so drastically.
“It needs to be made clear that Oasis leave decisions on ticketing and pricing entirely to their promoters and management, and at no time had any awareness that dynamic pricing was going to be used,” they said in a statement yesterday (September 4).
They went on to say: “While prior meetings between promoters, Ticketmaster and the band’s management resulted in a positive ticket sale strategy, which would be a fair experience for fans, including dynamic ticketing to help keep general ticket prices down as well as reduce touting, the execution of the plan failed to meet expectations. All parties involved did their utmost to deliver the best possible fan experience, but due to the unprecedented demand this became impossible to achieve.”
The band have also announced “a small step towards making amends for the situation” with “a special invitation-only ballot ticket sale strategy” for two new Wembley gigs on September 27 and 28.
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Emma Wilkes
NME
