Oasis ticket sale 'may have misled fans' says watchdog

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) stated that Ticketmaster may have "misled Oasis fans" with unclear pricing during the sale of tickets for the band's reunion tour last year. The CMA believes the company may have violated consumer protection law by selling "platinum" tickets at nearly 2.5 times the standard price without explaining that these tickets did not offer additional benefits. This practice raises concerns about transparency and fairness in the ticket purchasing process.

In its update on the investigation into Ticketmaster, the CMA pointed out that "this may have given consumers a misleading impression that platinum tickets were better." Consequently, the CMA has instructed Ticketmaster to change the way it labels tickets and discloses prices to fans in the future. Ticketmaster has stated it "welcomes" the recommendations, indicating a willingness to cooperate with the regulatory body.

A Ticketmaster spokesperson told the BBC via email: "At Ticketmaster, we are committed to providing the best possible ticketing experience through a simple, transparent, and consumer-friendly platform." He added: "We welcome the CMA's input to help the industry do even better for fans." The highly anticipated reunion tour tickets for Oasis went on sale on August 31st last year, selling over 900,000 tickets, demonstrating the high demand and potential impact of pricing practices.

However, many fans suffered as a result, as regular standing tickets, initially advertised at £135 plus fees, were relabeled on Ticketmaster as "high demand" and the price changed to £355 plus fees. In light of this, Oasis issued a statement saying that they "were unaware that dynamic pricing would be used" for the initial dates' ticket sales. The CMA launched its investigation in September last year to review whether Ticketmaster engaged in "unfair commercial practices" and whether fans were forced to purchase tickets within a short timeframe.

Ticketmaster subsequently denied using "dynamic pricing" to manipulate prices. Andrew Parsons, the company's UK head, told MPs last month: "We don't change prices in any automated or algorithmic way." He insisted that all prices are decided by the artist team and promoter – although in the case of Oasis, the promoter, SJM Concerts, is linked to Ticketmaster's parent company, Live Nation, raising questions about potential conflicts of interest.

The CMA did not comment on the dynamic pricing issue but said Ticketmaster made it difficult for Oasis fans to make "informed choices." For example, the CMA stated that consumers were unaware that there were "two different prices for standing tickets, with all the cheaper standing tickets being sold first." This led to "many fans waiting in long queues, not understanding the price they were going to pay, and then having to decide whether to pay more than they expected."

The CMA acknowledged that Ticketmaster has made some changes to its business practices since the Oasis ticket sales in August last year. However, the CMA stated that "the CMA currently considers that these changes are not sufficient to address its concerns." Hayley Fletcher, Interim Senior Director for Consumer Protection at the CMA, said: "We now want Ticketmaster to work with us to address these concerns so that fans can make informed choices when buying tickets in the future."

Downing Street responded to the report by saying that "everyone should have a fair chance to access" tickets for music and sporting events. A spokesperson repeated a quote made earlier this year by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy when the government announced plans to limit the price of ticket resales. "Having the chance to see your favourite musician or sports team in person is something everyone enjoys... but for too long, fans have been forced to put up with the pain of touts hoovering up tickets and reselling them at vastly inflated prices."

The spokesperson added: "We have also seen cases where consumers are caught out at the last minute by rising prices for high-demand events due to a lack of transparency." He added that a full response to the CMA consultation would be published in due course. Oasis's tour is scheduled to kick off on July 4, 2025, at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, generating considerable anticipation among fans.