The Oasis reunion has drawn the prospect of a government investigation into ticket prices after it that emerged authorised vendor Ticketmaster had been using ‘surge pricing’ to deal with the huge demand for the upcoming tour.
First made famous by Uber, surge or dynamic pricing sees the cost of services, or in this case, tickets, going up as more people want them.
Ticketmaster has been on the receiving end of much of Oasis fans' ire, as prices it charged jumped from an original estimate of £150 to more than £300, prompting the government to threaten action.
Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary, said in a statement on Sunday night: “After the incredible news of Oasis’ return, it’s depressing to see vastly inflated prices excluding ordinary fans from having a chance of enjoying their favourite band live.
“This government is committed to putting fans back at the heart of music.
“So we will include issues around the transparency and use of dynamic pricing, including the technology around queuing systems which incentivise it, in our forthcoming consultation on consumer protections for ticket resales.
“Working with artists, industry and fans we can create a fairer system that ends the scourge of touts, and rip-off resales and ensures tickets at fair prices.”
One north country MP, Charlotte Nichols, went further and accused the group of ‘scalping’ its fans. Scalping is where touts sell at inflated prices usually outside of an event or online.
“This is an exploitative business practice that’s only really possible because Ticketmaster [has] been allowed to have a near-enough monopolistic position in the market,” she added.
Jamie Stone MP, the Liberal Democrats’ culture spokesman, called Ticketmaster’s behaviour “scandalous”.
Oasis and fierce rivals Blur were at the forefront of the Britpop phenomenon that coincided with Tony Blair’s government in the nineties.
After the band split, the two founding brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher famously rowed for decades.
News that they had buried the hatchet and would reunite on tour for the first time in sixteen years has sparked a wave of interest and huge demand for tickets.
Lucy Powell, House of Commons leader and Lord President of the Council said she bought two tickets for £350 each for Heaton Park in July with the tickets originally priced at £148.50 plus a £2.75 booking fee.
In a more reflective tone than some of her colleagues, Powell added: “It is the market and how it operates.”
A spokesman for Ticketmaster told the Telegraph that it does not set the price of tickets itself.
Ticketmaster had to defend itself against accusations of profiteering in 2022 after ticket prices for a Bruce Springsteen concert hit $5,000.