British government to investigate Oasis concert ticket prices

The UK government is investigating the pricing of tickets for upcoming Oasis concerts, “dynamic” pricing that has frustrated tens of thousands of the band’s fans and disproportionately raised the initial cost of tickets for its 2025 tour. The Labour government announced on Sunday that it will look into the practice in an upcoming consultation on the UK ticket market, aimed at tackling unfair pricing and ticket scalping. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy expressed concern about the excessively high prices, which she said excluded ordinary fans of the band, adding that she aimed to end “fraudulent scalping” and ensure tickets were sold “at fair prices.” Dynamic pricing, which has become more prevalent after the pandemic, is where the cost of tickets for a concert is automatically adjusted based on demand.

Leader of the House of Commons Lucy Powell was among those affected by the price gouging over the weekend, she told BBC Radio 5 on Sunday. She ended up shelling out more than double the original quoted price for a ticket to an Oasis show and, while she acknowledged she “had no choice”, said that right now those were “the rules by which the market operates”. The Gallagher brothers’ band have announced 17 live shows across July and August 2025. Tickets for the Manchester show on 12 July were priced at almost 3,000 euros and at Wembley Stadium in London on 26 July they were priced at more than 7,000 euros – far more than the original ticket price of 178 euros for standing room only and between 86 and 243 euros for seats. There were around 1.4 million tickets available but websites were crashed by the high demand. Despite the price and technical inconveniences, tickets were sold out.

Ticketmaster, the largest ticketing company, uses a dynamic pricing system that adjusts the cost based on demand, a common practice in the US. The overwhelming demand for Oasis concerts caused ticket prices to rise significantly, causing frustration among fans who waited hours only to find final prices that were often prohibitively high. Labour MP David Baines criticised Ticketmaster for the practice, saying it was a way of taking advantage of fans. Keir Starmer’s government has set out to tackle the high prices caused by ticket scalping and has promised to support fair and transparent pricing.

In Ireland, where the Manchester band will also be performing, MP Regina Doherty has called for an investigation into Ticketmaster over price gouging for the Dublin concert. It should be noted that this is not the first time Ticketmaster has come under scrutiny. Last year, the US Department of Justice, along with 30 attorneys general, sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster for monopoly and anti-competitive practices. For its part, the band itself has already announced that it will cancel resale tickets.