UK government to review dynamic pricing following Oasis tickets surge

The British government has announced that it will investigate how prices for concert tickets are hiked when demand surges, after the cost of tickets for the Oasis tour more than doubled while on sale.

On Saturday, many fans reported being in lengthy digital queues, technical issues, and significantly higher than expected ticket prices.

U.K. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: "After the incredible news of Oasis's return, it's depressing to see vastly inflated prices excluding ordinary fans from having a chance of enjoying their favourite band live.

"Working with artists, industry, and fans,” she continued, “we can create a fairer system that ends the scourge of touts, rip-off resales, and ensures tickets at fair prices."

do you wanna let @TicketmasterUK know or https://t.co/SMLyywk8tk pic.twitter.com/RAyFPoYbHJ

— hannah louise (@hannahlouisef) August 31, 2024

Dynamic pricing is a demand-based system introduced by Ticketmaster in 2022, said to have been brought in to stop touts and ensure more money goes directly to the artist. It means that ticket prices can go up if there is a lot of demand and limited supply.

Talking to RTÉ on Sunday, Tánaiste Micheál Martin also commented on the Dublin tickets pricing, saying that they were "shocking" and involved "a kind of runaway inflation."

He added that there was a role for the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) to investigate it.