What went wrong with Oasis ticket fiasco – dodgy sellers, ‘dynamic’ prices and new gigs

Oasis caused havoc for millions as many desperately tried to grab tickets for their reunion tour.

The Mancunian rock legends had been in the midst of a bitter feud that had lasted fifteen years since their last performance at the V Festival in Stafford back in 2009. But with their debut album Definitely Maybe celebrating its 30th anniversary next year, the brothers put aside their differences and decided to get back together.

Fans were thrilled when the duo announced their Live ’25 tour with multiple shows across five cities in the UK and Ireland taking place next year. But when fans rushed to get tickets on Saturday morning (August 31), millions were left waiting hours for tickets that were never going to be theirs.

READ MORE: ‘I bought Oasis tickets for £150 each and sold them for £1,000 – I’m absolutely buzzing’

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It’s led to many fans slamming the Britpop icons, who started off as working class heroes when they started out in the nineties. Some feel the astronomical ticket prices go against what they used to represent in the early days of the band.

So, days after the ticket fiasco for the Oasis gigs, Daily Star looks at what went wrong and what is being done to rectify the issues.

11 hour queues and site crashing claims

Fans of the Supersonic hitmakers were left weeping when they failed to secure tickets for the sold-out tour on Saturday morning. Some were left waiting in queues of up to 11 hours and had to struggle through website delays.

Us Brits pride ourselves on our ability to queue. But knowing you’ve got over 200,000 people in front of you in a virtual queue for Oasis tickets is probably enough to ruin your entire month.

Fans using Ticketmaster were told: “As expected, Oasis is incredibly popular. We’re processing orders as quickly as possible so please keep your place in line.”

Lovers of the band were devastated and many aired their frustration on social media. “Can someone just confirm Oasis is all sold out so I can be put out of my misery sitting in a queue,” wrote one.

Another complained: “Has anyone actually managed to get Oasis tickets this morning, or are we all just sat in this stupid queue for the laugh”. And it appears some fans were even more unlucky as they claim they’d been booted out of the queue as the site thought they were “bots”.

After several users reported to the customer service accounts of Ticketmaster that they’d been “suspended”, staff replied: “Please make sure you are only using one tab, clear your cookies, and ensure you aren’t using any VPN software on your device.”

A spokesperson for Ticketmaster was forced to deny that their site had crashed amid the chaos. She told fans to “hold their place in line”. They said: “The queue is moving along as fans buy tickets. As anticipated, millions of fans are accessing our site so have been placed in a queue.

“Fans are advised to hold their place in line, make sure they’re only using one tab, clear cookies, and ensure they aren’t using any VPN software on their device.”

Suspicious sellers

Ahead of the tickets going on sale, Oasis themselves urged fans to avoid using secondary ticket websites such as Viagogo. However, within minutes of the tickets being made available, some tickets were already being sold on such websites for thousands of pounds, several times more than what the face value of the ticket was.

In their initial messages, Oasis asked those looking to grab tickets through secondary websites to avoid it if possible, as they may be fake and result in not being allowed into the gig. But speaking soon after tickets went on sale, the boss of Viagogo hit back, saying that it was completely legal to resell tickets at hiked prices.

Responding to the statement, Cris Miller – global managing director for Viagogo, told the PA news agency: “Resale is legal in the UK and fans are always protected by our guarantee that they will receive their tickets in time for the event or their money back.”

Similarly, in the wake of some tickets being sold for as much as £11,000, spokesman Matt Drew defended the website.

“We run a market place, think of us like an eBay but for tickets,” he said. “Most tickets are going for reasonable and rational prices,” he added, before calling on fans to wait and let the initial push for tickets quell so fans can find “good value” for the gig.

‘Dynamic’ pricing fury

After millions had scrambled to get into the queue to grab tickets, many were then able to buy their admission into the gigs, with standing tickets costing just under £148.50 a pop. The cheapest tickets – seats at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium and Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium – were £74.

But whilst many fans were able to secure tickets at the initial price, some were not so lucky. Some fans later in the afternoon found that when they finally reached the ticket selection page on Ticketmaster, general admission would set them back £355, over double what was first asked for.

The reasoning for this was that the tickets were “in demand” and were therefore allowed to be sold at a higher price. Fans were absolutely livid at Ticketmaster and the band for the jump in prices for the tickets, with one fan writing: “It’s disgraceful to see standing tickets priced at £355.20 – pure exploitation.”

A second user added: “That feeling when you wait in a queue for four hours only to be told the price of the ticket has risen from £148 to… £355? Because they’re ‘in demand’. How is this not illegal?”

Others slammed the band for not being “working class”. One fan on X fumed: “Not Oasis tickets being more expensive than my Taylor Swift ticket, that’s not very working class is it lads.”

Ticketmaster washed their hands of all responsibility for the jump. The site insisted it didn’t set any of the ticket prices and that the system is in place to discourage ticket touts.

It also claims the prices are agreed with artists and their management beforehand. The tactic, known as “dynamic pricing”, comes when a seller does set a fixed price for their product and can therefore hike or drop prices to suit demand.

Within the live music scene, this is rarely heard of in the UK – though it is common practice in America. Many promoters will use the practice of “dynamic pricing” to maximise revenue, using limits on the capacity of a gig space to justify their increase in prices.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has pledged to look into the huge prices. She said it was “depressing to see vastly inflated prices excluding ordinary fans”.

Did Oasis know about the price hike?

Before tickets went on sale, Oasis urged fans against using secondary ticket websites, for fear of being fleeced by ticket touts. However, many fans have now demanded answers from Liam and Noel on why they allowed the soar in prices to happen.

It’s believed Oasis will have opted into the dynamic pricing. The extra cash from it also goes to the band rather than touts.

Many fans were certain that the band knew about the potential for price hikes, taking to social media to vent their frustrations. “I think dynamic pricing (aka ripping off fans) can only happen if a band agrees, if so, what Oasis have done to their fans is unforgivable – they became the touts,” wrote one furious fan.

“They should be ashamed, turning fan excitement into a money grab,” a second user added. “This greed is ruining what should be a joyful experience.”

Oasis themselves have not said anything on the matter, though fans are equally unhappy with the stance the band taking. “The silence from Ticketmaster and Oasis is deafening,” wrote one account, “who set dynamic pricing and was dishonest about face value!”

What happens now?

With every show now completely sold out after hours of agonising waits for fans, some are angry at being undercut by the band. As a result, fans are now calling for refunds to be made on the difference between those bought early and others bought during the surge.

Bookmakers are also predicting the duo will resort to playing more dates later in the season as an apology to fans for missing out on their opportunity to grab tickets. According to betting agency Ladbrokes, the odds of the band adding more dates to their Wembley stint are as low as 1/3.

Speaking on the move, Nicola McGeady from the betting shop said: “Oasis fever descended into chaos over the weekend with so many fans left disappointed not to secure tickets. But with such huge demand, the odds suggest more dates will be added.”

It’s rumoured the band, who are set to play 17 nights across the UK and Wembley, could add an extra two nights at Dublin’s Croke Park.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk