The UK government has pledged to look into Ticketmaster’s use of “dynamic pricing” after a disastrous ticket on-sale for Oasis’ 2025 reunion tour.
“It’s depressing to see vastly inflated prices excluding ordinary fans from having a chance of enjoying their favorite band live,” UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said in a statement pledging to create “a fairer system that ends the scourge of touts, rip-off resales, and ensures tickets at fair prices.”
The government will now include “issues around the transparency and use of dynamic pricing, including the technology around queuing systems which incentivize it” in a previously scheduled review of the ticket resale market.
Tickets for Oasis’ first shows in 16 years were made available for purchase through Ticketmaster on Saturday, but the process left thousands of fans disappointed. In addition to the myriad of technical issues with the website, fans were hit with “In Demand Standing” ticket prices surging to three to four times the face value of standard tickets while waiting in online queues.
According to BBC, Leader of the House of Commons Lucy Powell was among the Oasis fans hit with dynamic pricing and paid more than double the original cost of a ticket.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer echoed Nandy’s thoughts on BBC Radio, saying “there are a number of things that we can” and “should do” regarding the ticketing system. He added that the government inquiry could “may well mean adjustments” into law.
Ticketmaster has already faced scrutiny in the US after botching Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” ticket on-sale. In January 2023, the Senate held a hearing on whether the ticket giant and its parent company, Live Nation, contributed to the lack of competition in the ticketing industry.