Oasis are set to drop the use of “dynamic pricing” for their two newly-announced Wembley shows after raking in an estimated extra £40m in ticket sales through the controversial practice.
Liam and Noel Gallagher hit out at the use of “surge pricing” for their reunion shows following a backlash from fans, saying they had no knowledge that the system, imported from US tours, would be implemented.
The band has announced two new Wembley Stadium dates using a new ticketing plan following chaos over the weekend.
It is understood the “staggered invitation-only process” will run using the same system as the pre-order ballot last Friday, which did not feature dynamic pricing.
Ticketmaster is yet to confirm if dynamic pricing, now the subject of a Government review, will be dropped for the new shows, set to take place in September 2025.
Last Saturday’s ticket launch left thousands of fans furious, with many being asked to pay around £350 for tickets advertised at around £150 due to high demand.
Music Business Worldwide, the industry trade website, wrote: “Informed sources speaking to MBW estimated that 10-15 per cent of the 1.4m tickets sold over the weekend were ‘dynamically’ priced on Ticketmaster.”
An industry figure told i: “It looks like about 200,000 tickets were dynamically priced. With some £148 tickets going for £355 and others for even more, that’s an extra £40m on top of the £400m gross from sales.”
The insider added: “Ticketmaster is encouraging artists to use dynamic pricing. Oasis’s management wanted a mechanism that subsidised lower priced £75 tickets, deterred unauthorised reselling at a higher level and covers the band’s fees.
“No-one anticipated 10 million people in 150 countries hammering the site for tickets. The intentions were overwhelmed by the demand.”
The windfall from dynamic pricing would be shared between the artist and promoter. Ticketmaster’s fees also rise in proportion to the sale price of the ticket.
The company said that decisions over pricing levels and whether to use dynamic pricing lie with artists and promoters.
A statement from Oasis said the band left “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”.
Ticket prices for the new Wembley shows have yet to be confirmed. Fans could still be asked to pay higher prices for a reserved number of “premium” standing and seated tickets.
On Thursday, the competition watchdog said it was “working at pace” to establish the facts around the Oasis tickets sale and keeping open the option of enforcement action for any breaches of consumer protection laws.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it was “aware of widespread concerns” regarding the sale of Oasis tickets by Ticketmaster, “and possibly other primary ticket sellers”, on 31 August.
While it said dynamic pricing, which saw standard tickets for the reunion tour more than doubling from £148 to £355 on Ticketmaster, was “not in itself unlawful”, it said businesses “must not mislead customers about their prices, and must be transparent about how prices are set”.
The European Commission announced it would be investigating dynamic pricing following the controversy.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) also received 450 complaints about Ticketmaster adverts for the Oasis gigs.
In a statement, Oasis told fans that the extra shows in the capital had been added because of “phenomenal demand”.
“Tickets will be sold by a staggered, invitation-only ballot process,” the statement said.
“Applications to join the ballot will be opened first to the many UK fans who were unsuccessful in the initial sale with Ticketmaster.”
The band will now play seven concerts at the London stadium, as well as dates in Manchester, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Dublin.
Oasis and Ticketmaster were approached for comment.
