Over 10 million fans from 158 countries queued up on Saturday (August 31) to buy tickets to Oasis’ 2025 UK and Ireland stadium tour.
That figure was confirmed in a press release from the band today (September 4), which claimed it was “the biggest concert launch ever seen in the UK and Ireland”.
Oasis also announced two further Wembley Stadium shows due to “unprecedented demand” for the tour, which they said, “saw all ticket platforms struggling to cope, resulting in immense frustration and disappointment for fans who missed out after queuing for many hours”.
In the same press release today, 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 today 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 yesterday).
Wednesday’s press release from Oasis addressed what it said were the “well reported complaints many buyers had over the operation of Ticketmaster’s dynamic ticketing”.
“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.”
Oasis, via press release today
The press release added: “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.
“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.”
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.
Oasis would need to perform 111 dates at the London Stadium to meet the demand for next year’s tour.
‘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.
Ticketmaster states on its website that “Promoters and artists set ticket prices” and that those “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.”
The Oasis concerts are being promoted by SJM, Live Nation, MCD and DF Concerts. Ticketmaster was one of three ticketing sites used, including Gigs and Tours, and See Tickets.
The furor around the ticket sale has caught the attention of politicians, 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, reports today 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.
“Inevitably, interest in this tour is so overwhelming that it’s impossible to schedule enough shows to fulfill public demand.”
Oasis press release
The press release from Oasis on Wednesday explained that “as a small step towards making amends for the situation”, a special “invitation-only ballot ticket sale strategy” has been devised for the two additional Wembley shows.
Applications to join the ballot will be opened first to the fans who were unsuccessful in the initial on-sale with Ticketmaster.
“Inevitably, interest in this tour is so overwhelming that it’s impossible to schedule enough shows to fulfill public demand,” the band’s press release added.
“But this ticket sale strategy will make the process far smoother for fans by reducing the stress and time it takes to obtain one of the hottest tickets of our time.”
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