When tickets for the UK and Ireland leg of the 2025 Oasis tour went on sale on 31 August, fans were informed they could only buy them through Ticketmaster or its resale partner, Twickets. Approximately 1.4 million tickets were made available for the European dates, with all 17 shows selling out by the end of the day. The decision to restrict ticket sales to these two platforms was aimed at preventing touts from purchasing tickets in bulk and reselling them at exorbitant prices. Ticketmaster's parent company, LiveNation, has since announced that it will begin the process of cancelling over 50,000 tickets that were sold on secondary ticket sites. "These terms and conditions were implemented to combat the reselling of tickets for excessive profit. Only 4% of tickets have been found on resale sites," a LiveNation spokesperson stated, highlighting that some major tours can see up to 20% of tickets appearing on unauthorized secondary platforms.
Secondary ticket swap sites like Viagogo, TicketSwap, and the Oasis-approved Twickets have become prevalent in the live event market. While these platforms are intended to allow fans to sell tickets to other fans when they cannot attend due to unforeseen circumstances, they often feature tickets bought by touts being resold at significantly higher prices. According to the BBC, some tickets for the upcoming Oasis tour were listed on these secondary sites for as much as £119,000 (€143,000). A quick search on StubHub and Viagogo revealed multiple instances of tickets being sold for thousands of Euros. "Two percent of Oasis tickets are on Viagogo and Stubhub," said Matt Drew, a Viagogo executive. "We will continue to sell them as per the regulator's guidelines. We are meeting a clear consumer demand and will continue to do so."
The original ticket sale date was not without controversy, as Oasis, Ticketmaster, and LiveNation were accused of price gouging by not adequately informing fans about the dynamic pricing. Many fans were surprised to find that standing tickets, initially advertised at £135 (€160), were subject to dynamic pricing, with prices rising to £355 (€421) by the time they reached the checkout. Both the Competition and Markets Authority in the UK and Ireland's Competition and Consumer Protection Commission have launched investigations into Oasis' use of dynamic pricing. While dynamic pricing is legal under EU consumer protection law and is commonly used in industries like airline tickets and taxis, the EU Commission has imposed some restrictions. It would be illegal "if prices are increased during the booking process after the consumer has proceeded to payment," a 2023 letter from the Commission confirmed.
Source link: https://www.euronews.com
