Oasis have finally responded to the Ticketmaster fiasco that ensued when tickets went on sale for their 2025 UK and Ireland reunion tour over the weekend, claiming they "at no time had any awareness that dynamic pricing was going to be used."
Dynamic pricing refers to the ticketing giant's patented model of adjusting ticket prices based on consumer demand. Unsurprisingly, the demand for Oasis tickets was fairly respectable, with over one million people reportedly queuing to purchase tickets to the Britpop icons' concerts at London's Wembley Stadium alone. For some, waiting all day in said queue led to finally getting through just to find that ticket prices were more than twice what they had been told to expect, with only minutes given to decide whether to fork over the extra cash.
A lot of people complained, especially because dynamic pricing is nowhere near as common overseas as it is in North America, and the way Ticketmaster applied it here may have breached consumer regulations by not making it clear to fans in advance that the ticket prices were subject to change. The UK Culture Secretary called for a review of the dynamic pricing model and secondary market ticket sales, while the European Commission said it would also be investigating the issue.
"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 shared today in a statement following the backlash, with many having dug up an old Liam Gallagher tweet in addition to recalling the stand the Cure took against exorbitant ticket pricing for their tour last year.
"While prior meetings between promoters, Ticketmaster and the band's management resulted in a positive ticket sale strategy, which would be a fair experience for fans, including dynamic ticketing to help keep general ticket prices down as well as reduce touting, the execution of the plan failed to meet expectations," the statement continued. "All parties involved did their utmost to deliver the best possible fan experience, but due to the unprecedented demand this became impossible to achieve."
This follows the news of earlier today that Oasis had added two additional Wembley Stadium shows to their UK and Ireland reunion tour itinerary, tickets for which will be made available in an "invitation-only ballot sale strategy" that the band see "as a small step toward making amends for the situation." Fans who weren't successful in getting tickets through the initial Ticketmaster sale will have priority access to join the ballot.