The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched an investigation into Live Nation-owned ticketing giant Ticketmaster.
The reason for the investigation? Saturday’s on-sale for Oasis’ 2025 UK and Ireland stadium tour, including “how so-called ‘dynamic pricing’ may have been used”, the CMA said in a statement today (September 5).
The competition watchdog said that it plans to scrutinize “whether the sale of Oasis tickets by Ticketmaster may have breached consumer protection law”.
Over 10 million fans from 158 countries are confirmed to have queued up on Saturday (August 31) to buy tickets to the tour.
Two additional Wembley Stadium shows have been added due to “unprecedented demand” during the sale, which Oasis said in a press release yesterday “saw all ticket platforms struggling to cope, resulting in immense frustration and disappointment for fans who missed out after queuing for many hours”.
To put the extent of that demand into context – Wembley, where Oasis are now set to play seven of the tour’s 19 dates, has a capacity of 90,000, which means that the band would need to perform 111 dates at the stadium to meet demand for next year’s tour.
Yesterday (Wednesday), in the same press release announcing the two additional Wembley shows, Oasis (Noel Gallagher, Liam Gallagher, and bandmates) publicly distanced themselves from the decisions that led to the use of Ticketmaster’s ‘dynamic’ pricing tools during the sale.
Informed sources speaking to MBW this week estimated that 10-15% of the 1.4 million tickets sold over the weekend were ‘dynamically’ priced on Ticketmaster.
The price for these tickets more than doubled from a face value of around GBP £150 to an ‘In Demand’ price tag of around £355 – causing fan outcry on social media platforms (and much discussion in other media outlets – including MBW on Tuesday).
“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,” said the band’s press release yesterday.
“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.”
Oasis, via press release
It added: “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.
“All parties involved did their utmost to deliver the best possible fan experience, but due to the unprecedented demand this became impossible to achieve.”
The CMA said today that it is at the initial stage of its investigation. It will now engage with Ticketmaster and gather evidence from various other sources, which “may include the band’s management and event organizers.”
SJM, Live Nation, MCD, and DF Concerts are promoting the Oasis tour. Ticketmaster was one of three ticketing sites used, along with Gigs and Tours and See Tickets.
The CMA stressed in its statement on Thursday that “it should not be assumed that Ticketmaster has broken consumer protection law”.
The competition regulator added that it will “also consider whether it is appropriate to investigate the conduct of anyone else in relation to the matter”.
‘Dynamic’ ticket pricing sees prices surge in real time as demand rises, similar to airline tickets or Uber.
Live Nation has previously argued that the program addresses the issue of scalpers buying up tickets at face value and then selling them at a higher price point.
The CMA said on Thursday that “this is not the first time” that the use of ‘dynamic pricing’ has “raised concerns among fans of live sporting and music events”.
According to the CMA, while the practice is “not automatically unlawful, it may breach consumer protection or competition law in certain circumstances”.
“It’s important that fans are treated fairly when they buy tickets, which is why we’ve launched this investigation.”
Sarah Cardell, CMA
Sarah Cardell, Chief Executive of the CMA, said: “It’s important that fans are treated fairly when they buy tickets, which is why we’ve launched this investigation.
“It’s clear that many people felt they had a bad experience and were surprised by the price of their tickets at check-out. We want to hear from fans who went through the process and may have encountered issues so that we can investigate whether existing consumer protection law has been breached.
“The CMA also welcomes the government’s recent announcement that it will consult on measures to provide stronger protections to consumers in the ticketing sector, wherever they buy their tickets.
“This has been a priority focus for the CMA for several years, having previously taken enforcement action and recommended changes to improve the secondary tickets market. We are committed to working closely with government to tackle the longstanding challenges in the ticket market.”
According to the CMA, its investigation will consider a “variety of things” including whether “Ticketmaster has engaged in unfair commercial practices” which, it says, “are prohibited under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008”.
It will also be investigating whether “People were given clear and timely information to explain that the tickets could be subject to so-called ‘dynamic pricing’ with prices changing depending on demand, and how this would operate, including the price they would pay for any tickets purchased.”
People were put under pressure to buy tickets within a short period of time – at a higher price than they understood they would have to pay, potentially impacting their purchasing decisions
As part of its information gathering, the CMA is inviting fans to submit evidence of their experiences in relation to the purchase or attempted purchase of Oasis tickets.
Fans are being asked to provide their evidence through CMA connect and, where possible, to include any screenshots they may have taken as they progressed through the purchasing process.
The furor around Oasis’ ticket sale also caught the attention of politicians this week, with Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy confirming over the weekend that the practice of ‘Dynamic Pricing’ will be included in a government consultation into the ticketing business.
The Guardian, meanwhile, reported yesterday that the European Commission is investigating “Ticketmaster’s ability to raise the price of concert tickets based on demand”.
The BBC reports that the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has received hundreds of complaints about Ticketmaster ads for the gigs.
Ticketmaster states on its website that “Promoters and artists set ticket prices”. The company adds that “Prices can be either fixed or market-based. Market-based tickets are labelled as Platinum or In Demand.”
On Saturday, the ‘market-based’ tickets for the Oasis gigs were listed by Ticketmaster as ‘In Demand‘.
The company explains further on its website that “In Demand Tickets are tickets to concerts and other events made available by artists and Event Organisers through Ticketmaster” and that “they give fans fair and safe access to sought after seats at market driven prices.”
Separately, in the United States, Live Nation is currently involved in a legal battle with The US Department of Justice, which filed an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation on May 23, alleging the company is engaged in anti-competitive practices.
The DoJ’s lawsuit, which can be read in full here, seeks to split Live Nation from its ticketing subsidiary, Ticketmaster.
Within the complaint, in a section that covers ‘Money Flows Across the Live Entertainment Industry,’ The DOJ references Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing tools.
“The face values of tickets are typically set or approved by artists, although promoters’ offers also influence face values,” according to the complaint.
It adds: “Artists, in consultation with their manager and the promoter (either or both of which might be Live Nation employees), can also decide to enable dynamic pricing through Ticketmaster’s two dynamic pricing tools, Pricemaster and Platinum, which allow face values to increase based upon the level of demand for a given concert.
“Promoters and venues use Ticketmaster’s Pricemaster tool for ‘bulk’ dynamic pricing of groups of seats, while Platinum tickets, on the other hand, are used to dynamically price at the seat level. For tickets that are dynamically priced by Ticketmaster, whether as bulk or at the seat level, consumers often pay much higher face values.”
The complaint also suggests: “Ticketmaster has a pricing team that makes pricing recommendations — including recommendations as to average and minimum face value of tickets. And typically, it is Ticketmaster’s own pricing team that adjusts the face value of tickets based on demand for a particular show.”
Live Nation argued in its official response to the lawsuit that the legal action “won’t reduce ticket prices or service fees” and that “there is more competition than ever in the live events market – which is why Ticketmaster’s market share has declined since 2010”.Music Business WorldwideMusic Business Worldwide
