Oasis hit with 450 complaints over 'misleading pricing' for comeback tour

3 September 2024, 14:00

Oasis' Noel and Liam Gallagher, pictured in 1995
Oasis' Noel and Liam Gallagher, pictured in 1995. Picture: Getty

By Kit Heren

Oasis have been hit with 450 complaints over "misleading pricing" for their reunion concert tour.

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Fans complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about Ticketmaster making "misleading claims about availability and pricing" about tickets, which went on general sale on Saturday.

The ASA said it is looking into the complaints, but has not yet launched a formal investigation.

Standard tickets for the Oasis tour more than doubled in price from £148 to £355 on Ticketmaster because of huge demand.

On Sunday, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy released a statement saying: "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.

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"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, rip-off resales and ensures tickets at fair prices."

The Ticketmaster UK site shows over 260,000 people waiting in the online queue as Oasis reunion tour tickets go on sale. The Manchester rock band, led by Noel and Liam Gallagher, returned after 15 years.
Before the furore from Oasis fans over standard tickets more than doubling from £148 to £355 on Ticketmaster, the Government had pledged to "bring in protections to stop people being ripped off by touts". Picture: Alamy

Government minister Lucy Powell was among those hit by dynamic pricing on Saturday, and eventually forked out more than double the original quoted cost of a ticket for an Oasis show.

Fans called the "in-demand" pricing both "sickening" and "scandalous".

Ticketmaster said it does not set prices, and its website says this is down to the "event organiser" who "has priced these tickets according to their market value".

London, UK. 30th July, 2024. Lisa Nandy, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, at Downing Street for the final Cabinet meeting before the summer recess. Credit: Karl Black/Alamy Live News
On Sunday, Ms Nandy released a statement saying: "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. Picture: Alamy

Lots of fans also missed out on the reunion tour tickets as they battled with website issues, and being mislabelled as bots, before Oasis announced all 17 shows had sold out.

However, Ticketmaster maintained its website had not crashed, and directed customers to clear cookies and to only use one tab.

House of Commons leader and Lord President of the Council Ms Powell said she ended up buying two tickets for £350 each for Heaton Park in July, which were originally quoted at £148.50, not including a booking fee of £2.75.

The Manchester Central MP said: "Eventually (I) got through and bought a couple of tickets for more than I was expecting to pay."

London, UK. 30th July, 2024. Lucy Powell, Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons Arrives at cabinet Office for cabinet meeting 70 Whitehall Credit: Richard Lincoln/Alamy Live News
Government minister Lucy Powell was among those hit by dynamic pricing on Saturday, and eventually forked out more than double the original quoted cost of a ticket for an Oasis show. Picture: Alamy

Ms Powell said she does not "particularly like" surge pricing, before adding: "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," she said.

It is believed the ticket prices for Oasis gigs were set by promoters.

The band's promoters, Manchester-based SJM Concerts, Irish MCD and Scottish DF Concerts & Events and Oasis have all been approached for comment.

Brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher confirmed their reunion on Tuesday following the end of their more than a decade long acrimonious split.

Waterloo, London. 28 August  2024. A digital board at Waterloo station with the brothers Liam and Noel  Gallagher , as the Manchester band Oasis
Brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher confirmed their reunion on Tuesday following the end of their more than a decade long acrimonious split. Picture: Alamy

There has also been concern about the non-official sellers Viagogo, which on Sunday had a seat at Wembley on July 25 listed at £5,289.

The secondary seller has defended the practice saying fans sell the tickets, and its global managing director added: "Resale is legal in the UK and fans are always protected by our guarantee that they will receive their tickets in time for the event or their money back."

Oasis has told followers that Ticketmaster and Twickets should only be used for resales, and put up for prices at "face value", otherwise they will be "cancelled by the promoters".

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