Ticketmaster forced to change sales practices after Oasis ticket row
Ticketmaster has been forced to introduce new transparency measures following a probe into the way it sold tickets for Oasis’s highly anticipated reunion tour.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the ticketing giant will now have to give fans clearer information about prices and ticket types, following widespread complaints during last year’s ‘Live ’25’ sale.
When tickets for the Britpop icons went on sale, demand far outstripped supply, with around 14m people reportedly competing for 1.4m seats.
Many fans complained they were left stuck in long online queues, while others found themselves priced out by tickets costing several times the original face value.
The CMA said its investigation found two areas of concern.
Ticketmaster failed to tell fans in queues that standing tickets were being sold at two different price points, with the cheaper ones vanishing first.
In addition, “platinum” tickets were sold for up to two-and-a-half times the price of “standard” tickets but offered no additional benefits.
New transparency measures
Under the new undertakings, Ticketmaster must now tell fans at least 24 hours before sales if tiered pricing is being used.
It will also provide clearer information about price ranges while fans are in online queues, with updates when cheaper tickets sell out.
The company has also agreed to stop using misleading labels such as “platinum” when tickets offer no extra benefits.
Ticketmaster will report regularly to the CMA for the next two years, with failure to comply risking enforcement action.
Sarah Cardell, CMA’s chief executive, said that “Fans who spend their hard-earned money to see artists they love deserve to see clear, accurate information upfront. We can’t ensure every fan gets a ticket for events as popular as the Oasis tour, but we can help ensure that next time an event like this comes along, fans have the information they need, when they need it”.
Ticketmaster welcomed confirmation that the watchdog had found no evidence of dynamic pricing, where costs shift in real time with demand, during the Oasis sale.
The company added that it had not breached consumer law but agreed to the changes voluntarily to improve the customer experience.
The row over Oasis tickets prompted political scrutiny, with culture secretary Lisa Nandy launching a review into pricing practices and prime minister Keir Starmer calling the price spikes “depressing”.
The controversy also comes amid wider global pressure on Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation.
In the US, regulators have accused the firm of anti-competitive behaviour and “illegal” ticket resale practices, allegations it denies.