Rise of dynamic pricing as Oasis followers are charged double for tickets
While Oasis fans spent hours queuing on the Ticketmaster website, many would have been preparing to take a big hit on the credit card to secure their place.
But when they finally got to the booking page for the Oasis Live ’25 shows, many were horrified to find the ticket price more than doubled from about £150 to £350.
The controversial tactic was an example of ‘dynamic pricing’ which is already widely used by airlines and hotels – and is becoming more common in concert ticket sales, despite criticism from artists such as Tom Grennan and The Cure’s Robert Smith.
Ticketmaster defended its so-called ‘in-demand’ prices, pushing the blame onto the event organiser which it said priced the tickets according to their market value.
However, the Government has now confirmed the practice will be reviewed as part of its upcoming consultation on consumer protections in ticket sales and resales.
And the Advertising Standards Authority revealed today that at least 450 people have now submitted official complaints about how Oasis tickets were advertised.
A photograph of Liam and Noel Gallagher released last week as they confirmed the Oasis gigs
Oasis fans spent hours in the queue for tickets on Saturday before facing surging prices
A Ticketmaster screengrab on Saturday showing ‘in demand’ prices for Oasis in Manchester
A spokesperson for the UK’s regulator of advertising confirmed the complainants argued that the adverts made ‘misleading claims about availability and pricing’.
They added: ‘We’re carefully assessing these complaints and, as such, can’t comment any further at this time. To emphasise, we are not currently investigating these ads.’
ANALYSIS: Consumers should not be misled by the indicated price
By SYLVIA ROOK
Many consumers have complained that the tickets they were offered, after having queued for several hours online, ended up costing substantially more than the originally advertised prices that were released at the end of last week.
Whilst dynamic pricing is an accepted practice for holidays, flights and taxis, the difference here is that consumers are informed of the price before they decide to make a purchase.
In this case, the public were given a price for tickets, and were not informed until they finally got to the front of the queue, that the price had increased.
This undoubtedly meant that many consumers have overreached and ended up spending much more than they originally intended.
Many other consumers ended up disappointed after deciding not to proceed to pay the vastly increased prices.
One Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) member who queued for five hours was faced with paying £348 for a standing ticket at Wembley when he was expecting to pay £151.
Dynamic, or fluid pricing, is not specifically prohibited by consumer protection law; the important factor is that consumers are not misled by the indicated price.
It is a breach of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 if a trader misleads consumers regarding the price of goods and services, if that causes the average consumer to take a different ‘transactional decision’.
In this case many consumers would not have joined the queue had they known that the price would have increased by the time they were able to purchase, and many fans could not afford the increased price.
Ticketmaster have said the tickets were ‘in demand’ tickets, which is why the price was higher but, to ensure consumer legislation is complied with, all relevant information about the price should have been given to consumers before they joined the queue.
CTSI is also aware of the vastly increased price of tickets on resale sites, meaning that genuine fans are unable to buy tickets which may have been purchased by bots.
Anyone who feels they were misled by the promotion of the Oasis tickets and the ticket platforms promoting them is encouraged to report the matter to Trading Standards.
We will be working with the government to see how consumers can be better protected with regard to the sale of event tickets.
SYLVIA ROOK is lead officer for fair trading at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI)
Ticketmaster first said in 2011 that it was planning to implement ‘dynamic pricing’ in the US, which meant prices could both rise and fall based on demand.
But the concept only started to be noticed in the UK over a decade later when it began being used in 2022 for high-demand gigs by the likes of Harry Styles, Bruce Springsteen and Coldplay.
Ticketmaster uses a form of dynamic pricing called ‘demand-based pricing’ which means it can significantly raise the cost of a ticket for a hotly-anticipated event while a sale is ongoing, and still sell out – as was the case with the Oasis gigs.
Ticketing and security expert Reg Walker told the Guardian: ‘The reason they push it is that if you sell a ticket at £100, at 10 per cent service charge you get £10. If you sell it at £400, you’re getting £40.
‘So it’s in Ticketmaster’s interests to push this model. I’m not convinced that artists know what they’re getting into.’
An explanation by Ticketmaster about the ‘in-demand standing ticket’ price for Oasis said: ‘The event organiser has priced these tickets according to their market value. Tickets do not include VIP packages. Availability and pricing are subject to change.’
When asked about this issue, a Ticketmaster spokesperson said the firm does not set prices, and shared a link to its website where it says costs can be ‘fixed or market-based’.
Ticketmaster also said artists decide whether or not to opt for the practice, where the value of the ticket changes based on the demand.
It is claimed that Oasis – hailed by some as working class heroes – could have rejected the dynamic pricing model and kept prices lower for fans.
Ticketmaster is secretive about how its dynamic pricing model works, but it claims event organisers set the prices. It is therefore likely that the ticket costs are adjusted automatically within a range that is determined by the promoter before they go on sale.
An estimated 14 million Oasis fans were involved in ‘Supersonic Saturday’ as they battled to get their hands on coveted passes for the gigs.
However, with a limited supply of tickets, and huge demand for the Oasis reunion tour, fans slammed the dynamic pricing as ‘greedy’, ‘disgusting’ and a ‘rip off’.
One reason given for using the practice is to prevent touts from buying and reselling tickets at higher prices.
And airlines have been using ‘demand-based pricing’ for years, based on how well a flight is selling – meaning the cost of a seat can vary wildly in the weeks leading up to take-off.
Uber uses another version of dynamic pricing called ‘surge pricing’ which can increase the normal cost of a private hire car in times of high demand by users or low supply of drivers.
The entertainment and hospitality industries employ a method called ‘time-based pricing’ which means theatre shows or meals out vary based on the time of day or day of the week.
Retailers can offer ‘personalised pricing’ which gives different customers different prices based on their past purchases, loyalty, and browsing habits – which is often used by supermarkets or clothing stores.
And there is also ‘segmented pricing’, which sees certain consumer groups such as the elderly or students given a specific rate on a product.
As for Oasis, the band had previously warned that ‘tickets sold in breach of the terms and conditions will be cancelled’ after some pre-sale tickets bought last Friday evening appeared on resale sites at heavily inflated prices, some as high as £6,000.
In Ireland, where reselling tickets above face value is illegal, Deputy Prime Minister Michael Martin slammed the ‘price gouging’ as some tickets were sold for over €400 (£334) due to surge pricing.
Tom Grennan (left) and The Cure’s Robert Smith (right) have both criticised dynamic pricing
Sean Adams, who manages artists including Charlotte Church and the Anchoress and founded the music website Drowned in Sound, told the Guardian: ‘Why does a ‘band of the people’ go along with these corporate dynamic ticket policies that feel like it rips off fans who had the same chance of joining a digital queue as everyone else?’
But Jonathan Brown, chief executive of the Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers, defended dynamic pricing and pointed out that prices were determined by the band.
He added that consumers were ‘used to’ the shift in price, comparing it to the hotel or travel industry.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has since called the inflated selling of Oasis tickets ‘incredibly depressing’ as she revealed that surge pricing would be included in a Government review of the secondary gig sales market.
Before the furore from Oasis fans, the Government had pledged to ‘bring in protections to stop people being ripped off by touts’.
Yesterday, Ms Nandy said: ‘After the incredible news of Oasis’ return, it’s depressing to see vastly inflated prices excluding ordinary fans from having a chance of enjoying their favourite band live.
‘This Government is committed to putting fans back at the heart of music. So we will include issues around the transparency and use of dynamic pricing, including the technology around queuing systems which incentivise it, in our forthcoming consultation on consumer protections for ticket resales.
‘Working with artists, industry and fans we can create a fairer system that ends the scourge of touts, rip-off resales and ensures tickets at fair prices.’
Government minister Lucy Powell was among those hit by dynamic pricing on Saturday, and eventually forked out more than double the original quoted cost of a ticket for an Oasis show.
Fans called the ‘in-demand’ pricing both ‘sickening’ and ‘scandalous’.
Lots of fans also missed out on the reunion tour tickets as they battled with website issues, and being mislabelled as bots, before Oasis announced all 17 shows had sold out.
However, Ticketmaster maintained its website had not crashed, and directed customers to clear cookies and to only use one tab.
House of Commons leader and Lord President of the Council Ms Powell said she ended up buying two tickets for £350 each for Heaton Park in July, which were originally quoted at £148.50, not including a booking fee of £2.75.
Oasis fans attending the gigs at Wembley Stadium next summer were hit by dynamic pricing
The Manchester Central MP told BBC Radio 5 Live: ‘Eventually (I) got through and bought a couple of tickets for more than I was expecting to pay.’
Ms Powell said she does not ‘particularly like’ surge pricing, before adding: ‘It is the market and how it operates.’
‘You’ve absolutely got to be transparent about that so that when people arrive after hours of waiting, they understand that the ticket is going to cost more,’ she said.
It is believed the ticket prices for Oasis gigs were set by promoters.
The band’s promoters, Manchester-based SJM Concerts, Irish MCD and Scottish DF Concerts & Events have all been approached for comment.
Oasis are managed by Ignition Management, which has also been contacted for comment.
Brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher confirmed their reunion on Tuesday following the end of their more than a decade long acrimonious split.
There has also been concern about the non-official sellers Viagogo, which on Sunday had a seat at Wembley on July 25 listed at £5,289.
The secondary seller has defended the practice saying fans sell the tickets, and its global managing director added: ‘Resale is legal in the UK and fans are always protected by our guarantee that they will receive their tickets in time for the event or their money back.’
Oasis has told followers that Ticketmaster and Twickets should only be used for resales, and put up for prices at ‘face value’, otherwise they will be ‘cancelled by the promoters’.
Oasis, whose hits include ‘Wonderwall’, ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ and ‘Champagne Supernova’, are scheduled to play 17 dates in the UK and Ireland, 15 years after warring brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher’s last performance together.
Uber uses a version of dynamic pricing called ‘surge pricing’ which can increase the normal cost of a private hire car in times of high demand by users or low supply of drivers
Meanwhile, on ticket resale websites, prices ranged, but the lowest seen on Saturday was £537 and the highest £14,104.
A handful of standing tickets were on sale for the London shows on Viagogo, ranging from £773 to £1,512. Seated tickets for London ranged from £655 to £5,971.
Standing tickets for the Cardiff concerts were on Viagogo ranging from £537 to £1,095, and seated tickets ranged from £596 to £5,906.
For Manchester, more than 400 standard tickets for Heaton Park were up for sale, starting at £608 and going up to £11,806.
For the Edinburgh concerts, the few available standing tickets ranged from £687 to £1,199. Seated tickets ranged from £714 to £4,977.
On StubHub, standing tickets for the London concerts ranged from £904 to £4,519, while seated tickets started at £843 and went up to £14,104.
Noel and Liam Gallagher on the ‘Che Tempo Che FA’ TV Programme in Italy in November 2008
The Oasis line-up before their Knebworth Park concert in 1996, which was (from left) Alan White, Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs, Liam Gallagher, Paul ‘Guigsy’ McGuigan and Noel Gallagher
For Cardiff, StubHub customers could get standing tickets from £959 to £4,519 and seated tickets from £549 to £6,029.
Tickets for Manchester ranged from £723 to £6,025.
And for Edinburgh standing tickets ranged between £775 and £4,519, while seated tickets were advertised from £843 to £2,283.
There did not seem to be any listing for the band’s Dublin dates on either ticket-reselling website. The Irish government introduced a law banning ticket touting in 2021.
Original prices for a seat to watch the band at London’s Wembley Stadium began at £74.25, with the most expensive ticket a £506.25 pre-show party, exhibition and seated package.
Cardiff’s Principality Stadium shows, Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium and Ireland’s Croke Park were all first listed at similar prices, while Manchester’s Heaton Park tickets start from £148.50, with only standing available alongside a number of hospitality and luxury packages.
