Fatboy Slim is the latest artist to weigh in on Ticketmaster's controversial dynamic pricing model, wherein prices for concert tickets fluctuate based on demand. It was recently brought back into the spotlight when presales opened for the UK leg of the Oasis reunion tour, although the band claimed they didn't have "any awareness that dynamic pricing was going to be used." (They then claimed to have opted out of the model for the North American leg.)
"The only problem I have got is with scalping the fans," Fatboy Slim told The Sun when asked about the Gallagher brothers' plans to get back on the road together. "That dynamic pricing, that is ripping off the fans. It is like auctioning tickets because you know they are doing well. It is bad enough with the touts doing it, but the actual promoter and band doing it, it is sick."
He continued, "As far as I know, it has never happened on my watch. I get a say on making tickets, on the whole, cheap. I always say, 'Let's have a fair price.' Ticket prices are so exorbitant. It is just profit for people who are very, very rich already — and that is for the bands and the promoters."
"I can't see how you can justify making it even more expensive, just because you know you have got a gig that everybody wants to go to," the producer added, echoing the comments of the Cure's Robert Smith, who has been one of the most outspoken detractors of the dynamic pricing model — which he calls a "scam."
As Smith proved with the Cure's North American tour last year, musicians do indeed have a say (although it's worth remembering that not everyone has the leverage of being Robert Smith) in setting the ticket prices for their shows. You know who recently opted out of dynamic pricing for their 2025 tour? Coldplay!
"I really fucking hate Coldplay," Fatboy Slim told the publication. "At least, I did until they announced their new arena tour and they announced they are giving 10 percent of the whole ticket prices for the whole tour [to the Music Venue Trust charity], which will help keep smaller venues going. That is the dynamic pricing you should be having. They are not making lots of money, they just want to survive. They just love to see rock 'n' roll."