Ministers will examine surge ticket pricing in a review after the cost of tickets for Oasis’s concerts more than doubled while on sale, the culture secretary has confirmed.
Lisa Nandy said she thought the inflated price of tickets was “incredibly depressing” as standard tickets were increased from £148 to £355 on the website Ticketmaster.
The prices rose under its “dynamic pricing” mechanism, which means that the cost of tickets deemed to be “in demand” can be higher than initially advertised.
The government had already planned to review the secondary ticket sales market, and pledged to bring in measures to stop fans being “ripped off” by touts.
On Sunday Nandy said: “After the incredible news of Oasis’s 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 queueing 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, rip-off resales and ensures tickets at fair prices.”
Labour promised to introduce “new consumer protections” on ticket resales in its election manifesto earlier this year.
Oasis will play 17 dates across five cities in 2025, their first live performances since the band split acrimoniously in 2009. The tour was announced two days before the 30th anniversary of the release of their debut album, Definitely Maybe.
Ticketmaster has said that it does not set ticket prices. Its website said they are down to the “event organiser”, which “has priced these tickets according to their market value”.
It is believed the ticket prices for Oasis gigs were set by promoters, PA Media reported. The band’s promoters, SJM Concerts, MCD and DF Concerts & Events have all been approached for comment.
Fans have called for artists and bands to oppose the dynamic pricing model. Among those hit by dynamic pricing was Nandy’s government colleague, and fellow north-west England MP, Lucy Powell. She said she had paid double the price originally quoted for tickets.
She said she had paid £350 each for two tickets at Heaton Park in Manchester. She told BBC Radio 5 Live: “Eventually [I] got through and bought a couple of tickets for more than I was expecting to pay.”
She added that she does not “particularly like” surge pricing. However she said: “It is the market and how it operates.
“You’ve absolutely got to be transparent about that so that when people arrive after hours of waiting, they understand that the ticket is going to cost more.”