LONDON – The U.K.'s competition watchdog has launched an investigation into the way more than one million tickets were sold for next year's reunion concerts from iconic 1990s Britpop band Oasis.
In a statement Thursday, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said its investigation into Live Nation Entertainment's unit Ticketmaster will look specifically at “dynamic pricing," whereby prices can vary rapidly in light of changing market conditions.
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It is a pricing strategy used in flight sales and home food deliveries, where demand levels can fluctuate and lead to surging prices while also sometimes leading to lower prices. It is a more common practice in the U.S. than in the U.K.
Many Oasis fans who queued online at the Ticketmaster site for hours Saturday complained that they ended up paying more than double the face value of the ticket as a result of dynamic pricing, with standard standing tickets often sold for 355 pounds ($470) as compared to the expected 148 ($195).
Critics said it was deceptive and inappropriate to use dynamic pricing for the concerts given that it was well-known in advance that demand for the fixed number of tickets would be sky-high.
The CMA said it would scrutinize whether Ticketmaster, the U.K.'s biggest seller of tickets, may have engaged in unfair commercial practices and whether it breached consumer protection law. The probe will look at whether consumers were told in a clear and timely way that the tickets could be subject to dynamic pricing, and whether they were put under pressure to buy tickets within a short period of time – at a higher price than they understood they would have to pay.
“It’s important that fans are treated fairly when they buy tickets, which is why we’ve launched this investigation,” said Sarah Cardell, the watchdog's chief executive. “It’s clear that many people felt they had a bad experience and were surprised by the price of their tickets at check-out.”
The organization wants to hear from fans who encountered issues, and will seek evidence from Ticketmaster and others, which may include the band’s management and event organizers. It said it can implement enforcement if it sees evidence of possible breaches of the law.
The controversy also has prompted some lawmakers in Ireland, where the band are due to perform, to launch a bid to ban dynamic pricing in the sale of tickets.
Ticketmaster has said that it does not set concert prices and its website states this is down to the event organizer who “has priced these tickets according to their market value.”
Oasis is led by brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher, who said in a statement Wednesday that they didn't know that “dynamic pricing” would be used and acknowledged that the execution of the ticketing plan “failed to meet expectations.”
“It needs to be made clear that Oasis leave decisions on ticketing and pricing entirely to their promoters and management, and at no time had any awareness that dynamic pricing was going to be used," the band said.
The tickets that went on sale Saturday were for the band's concerts July 4 and 5 at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, Heaton Park in Manchester, on July 11, 12, 16, 19 and 20, London’s Wembley Stadium on July 25, 26 and 30 and Aug. 2 and 3, Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh on Aug. 8, 9 and 12; and Croke Park in Dublin on Aug. 16 and 17.
On Wednesday, another two dates were announced at Wembley on Sept. 27 and 28, which will first be open only to people who were unable to get tickets in the initial Ticketmaster sale. The relief for them is that dynamic pricing will not be used on this occasion.
Formed in Manchester in 1991, Oasis was one of the dominant British acts of the 1990s, producing hits including “Wonderwall," “Champagne Supernova” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger.” Its sound was fueled by singalong rock choruses and the combustible chemistry between guitarist-songwriter Noel Gallagher and his frontman brother Liam.
Oasis split in 2009, with Noel Gallagher quitting the band after a backstage dustup with his brother at a festival near Paris. While the Gallagher brothers, now aged 57 and 51, haven’t performed together since, both regularly perform Oasis songs at their solo gigs. They’ve also fired off criticisms of each other in the press.