Investigations into 'dynamic pricing' that has angered Oasis fans

Thousands of Oasis fans waited long hours in virtual queues shortly after the British band released tickets for reunion shows next summer, only to find that prices had been hiked as part of a "dynamic pricing" scheme. 

Many fans who waited for more than three hours thinking they would pay the initially advertised rate of £148.50 (US$195) ended up paying double at US$390.

It was the result of 'dynamic pricing', also known as surge pricing, which is a strategy businesses use to push up prices at times of high demand. This is commonly seen in airline ticket prices and hotel room rates during holiday seasons, as well as Uber surge pricing during peak traffic hours.

TICKETMASTER SAYS ARTISTES CAN OPT FOR DYNAMIC PRICING

Ticketmaster has said that for concert tickets, artistes or promoters are responsible for determining the number of tickets and setting the face value price of tickets. They can opt for dynamic pricing if they want and it is implemented once Ticketmaster gets their approval. The agency representing Oasis did not immediately comment.

While dynamic pricing might seem unfair to customers, it is considered legal in the UK as long as the company follows laws and regulations related to pricing transparency, consumer protection and fair competition.  

In Britain, marketplace Viagogo and StubHub are the two main secondary ticketing websites. Ticketmaster shut down its resale sites, GetMeIn and Seatwave, in 2018 after persistent criticism of ticket reselling by touts. 

Dynamic pricing had been used in the UK for sales by Harry Styles, Coldplay and Blackpink, according to the BBC. Taylor Swift chose to opt out of using dynamic pricing on her The Eras Tour.

UK INVESTIGATING DYNAMIC PRICING ON OASIS TICKETS

Britain's government said late on Sunday (Sep 1) it would investigate how prices for concert tickets sold on official websites are hiked when demand surges, after the Oasis ticket sale. The government will include issues around the transparency and use of dynamic pricing in an already planned review of ticket sales and the protection of consumers.

Dublin MEP Regina Doherty has called for an investigation into Ticketmaster by Ireland’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC). The CCPC believes there are legitimate concerns around the consumer experiences this weekend and is reviewing the situation, a spokesperson said. It will consider all options to ensure consumer protection law is followed.

Another Irish MEP, Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, said she would call for the EU Commission to investigate the situation. She is a member of the EU Parliament's Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) committee.

CONCERN OVER LIVE NATION PURCHASE OF TICKETMASTER

For years, concert fans and politicians have been calling for a re-examination of Live Nation's purchase of Ticketmaster in 2010. That intensified after the ticket seller botched 2022 sales of Taylor Swift's first concert tour in years, sending fans into hours-long online queues and charging prices that customers said were too high.

The US Department of Justice filed an antitrust suit against Live Nation and its ticket-selling unit Ticketmaster in April for allegedly monopolising markets across the live concert industry.

Last year, the European Commission said it was monitoring dynamic pricing, emphasising that EU law prohibits dominant companies from imposing excessively high prices.