Watchdog launches probe into Ticketmaster over Oasis ticket gross sales

The competition watchdog has launched an investigation into Ticketmaster over Oasis concert ticket sales, it has announced.

The Competition and Markets Authority said fans ‘may not have been given clear information about ticket prices’ as they struggled to snap up tickets for the Oasis Live ’25 tour last week.

Regulators will investigate whether Ticketmaster has engaged in ‘unfair commercial practices’, prohibited under consumer law, and whether fans were given clear and timely information on the Uber-style ‘dynamic pricing’ used to set the cost of tickets. 

Watchdogs are also set to assess whether concert-goers were pressured into buying the tickets within a short space of time and at a higher price than they thought they were going to pay.

It came after the band appeared to blow up some of the goodwill built up by fans over 15 years in a matter of days after announcing the reunion tour – as would-be concert-goers hit out at ‘dynamic pricing’ that doubled standing ticket prices.

Scalpers also appeared to scoop tickets in bulk and placed them on resale websites for vastly inflated figures.

The CMA is at the initial stage of its investigation and will engage with Ticketmaster and ‘other sources’ such as the band’s management and the event promoters.

Fans are being asked to submit evidence to the CMA outlining their experiences of buying – or attempting to buy – Oasis tickets after they went on sale last week and sold out within hours. 

This can be done via the regulator’s CMA Connect platform. 

An investigation being launched does not mean Ticketmaster has definitively broken consumer law.

But the watchdog says that dynamic pricing is becoming ‘increasingly prevalent’ in live music and sporting events, and may breach consumer protection regulations in ‘certain circumstances’.

The CMA may also examine whether the practice breaches competition law – as the majority of tickets for the gigs were sold through Ticketmaster alone. 

The call for evidence closes in two weeks, on September 19 at 5pm. 

CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said: ‘It’s important that fans are treated fairly when they buy tickets, which is why we’ve launched this investigation.

‘It’s clear that many people felt they had a bad experience and were surprised by the price of their tickets at checkout.

‘We want to hear from fans who went through the process and may have encountered issues so that we can investigate whether existing consumer protection law has been breached.

‘The CMA also welcomes the Government’s recent announcement that it will consult on measures to provide stronger protections to consumers in the ticketing sector, wherever they buy their tickets.

‘This has been a priority focus for the CMA for several years, having previously taken enforcement action and recommended changes to improve the secondary tickets market.

‘We are committed to working closely with Government to tackle the longstanding challenges in the ticket market.’

Sir Keir Starmer had yesterday lashed out at the ‘depressing price hikes’ and ‘extortionate resales’ inflicted on Oasis fans who had waited a decade and a half for their idols to reunite.

‘It’s great that Oasis are back together. I think from what I’ve determined about half the country probably queued for tickets over the weekend but it is depressing to hear of price hikes,’ the Prime Minister said.

‘I’m committed to putting fans at the heart of music and end extortionate price resales and we’re starting a consultation to work out how best we can do this.’

A Ticketmaster spokesperson said: ‘We are committed to cooperating with the CMA and look forward to sharing more facts about the ticket sale with them.’

Representatives for Oasis have been contacted for comment. 

Ticketmaster has previously said it does not set concert prices – and says dynamic pricing decisions are the responsibility of ‘event organisers’ who have ‘priced these tickets according to their market value’. 

The announcement came after the European Commission announced its own investigation into Ticketmaster’s conduct. 

A spokesperson for the EC said yesterday the body is working on a ‘fitness check’ of EU consumer law on digital fairness, which it plans to adopt this autumn.

In the US, the firm’s parent company Live Nation Entertainment (LNE) – which also promotes and runs concerts – is subject to an anti-competition lawsuit by the US Department of Justice, which is seeking to break the company up altogether.

The DoJ, along with 30 state and district attorneys general, has accused LNE of harming ‘fans, innovation, artists and venues’ with what it says is a monopoly of the live events industry.

LNE told the Mail: ‘The DOJ’s lawsuit won’t solve the issues fans care about relating to ticket prices, service fees, and access to in-demand shows.

‘We will defend against these baseless allegations, use this opportunity to shed light on the industry, and continue to push for reforms that truly protect consumers and artists.’

‘Fans pay more in fees, artists have fewer opportunities to play concerts, smaller promoters get squeezed out, and venues have fewer real choices for ticketing services,’ Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in May.

Fans have hit out at Oasis and accused them of betraying their working class roots after standing tickets shot up to around £350 a ticket – £200 more than concert-goers had been told they would pay – on the Ticketmaster website.

The band was also accused of hypocrisy after warning people not to buy tickets at inflated prices on resale websites such as Viagogo, where briefs were put up for as much as £10,000.

Some waited for up to eight hours to get to the front of the queue on Saturday only to be presented with rip-off standing tickets – while others were kicked off Ticketmaster because they were accused of being a ticket-scalping ‘bot’.

Touts professing to have tickets listed them on resale sites for as much as £10,000 – but the band has vowed to cancel any tickets that are illegally sold on.

Consumer champion and Watchdog presenter Matt Allwright told The One Show on Tuesday: ‘(Oasis) say their team is monitoring listings on unauthorised resale platforms like Viagogo and tickets purchased on such sites are liable to be cancelled.’

Oasis has already sought to distance themselves from the dynamic pricing row – claiming they were ‘not aware’ the controversial price-setting scheme would be used to punt tickets to their reunion tour.

In an unprecedented statement, a representative of the band said yesterday: ‘As for the well reported complaints many buyers had over the operation of dynamic ticketing: 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.

‘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.’

Two further dates at Wembley Stadium have been added for September 27 and 28 – and will be allocated on an invitation only ballot to ensure fans pay the true face value for their spot.

But even this has enraged those who stumped up the above-average prices in the first sale, with one fan writing on X, formerly Twitter: ‘Hope they’re being charged £400 a ticket for the same seats as me!’ 

Sources told the Sun that Liam, who tends to be more active on social media than his older brother, has been getting the ‘brunt of the backlash’ online. He has been quiet on social media since the ticketing row began.

The source said: ‘Noel and Liam have discussed what’s happened and have asked their teams to see if they can change the Ticketmaster policy.

‘They want to look after their fans and get as many to their concerts as they can, for the price they marketed the tickets at.’

The dynamic pricing has particularly stung Liam after fans dug out an old tweet of his mocking Noel’s gig prices when the pair were not talking.

The younger brother had slammed Noel in for charging $350 (£266) for a gig in the US, writing in September 2017: ‘350 dollars to go and see rkid in USA what a c*** when will it all stop as you were LG x.’

The post was shared with comments such as ‘This hasn’t aged well’ and ‘Well this is evergreen’. 

Liam suffered particular criticism last week when an old tweet of his mocking Noel for solo gig prices resurfaced and was widely shared online.