Oasis ticket chaos sparks dynamic pricing examination by European Commission
Ticketmaster has said it does not set concert prices and its website states this is down to the "event organiser" who "has priced these tickets according to their market value"
Surge pricing based on demand is set to be examined by the European Commission amid a backlash to Oasis concert prices soaring due to the practice.
Some fans of the rock band were left shocked by standard tickets more than doubling from £148 (€175) to £355 (€420) on Ticketmaster for their reunion tour last weekend, prompting the Government and the UK’s competition watchdog to pledge they will look into the use of dynamic pricing.
Ticketmaster has said it does not set concert prices and its website states this is down to the "event organiser" who "has priced these tickets according to their market value".
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The practice of increasing or decreasing prices based on demand has been compared to how airline tickets and hotel rooms are sold.
An acting spokesperson for the European Commission confirmed it is working on a "fitness check" of EU consumer law on digital fairness, which it plans to adopt this autumn.
The use of dynamic pricing will be part of this review, the PA news agency reports.
The digital fairness "fitness check" was launched in spring 2022 to "establish whether additional legislation or other action is needed in the medium term to ensure equal fairness online and offline".
The long-awaited Oasis reunion tour drew huge attention from fans as it will see the Manchester-formed Britpop band on stage together for the first time since their major split in 2009.
On August 31, they revealed the general sale tickets for their upcoming 17 UK and Ireland gigs had sold out in less than a day, but many fans missed out as they battled website issues and being mislabelled as bots.
Other international dates are still to be announced, but no more UK shows will be added to their tour, PA understands.
Following the ticket furore, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received 450 complaints about Ticketmaster adverts for the Oasis gigs.
A spokesperson for the UK’s regulator of advertising said the complainants argue that the adverts made "misleading claims about availability and pricing".
It is believed the ticket prices for the Oasis gigs were set by promoters which included SJM Concerts, MCD and DF Concerts & Events.
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