Dynamic ticket pricing faces a huge crackdown in the United Kingdom after controversy took hold of the Oasis reunion tour and tickets sold for the band's first gigs in 15 years.
And according to one MP, ticket sellers should be fined if they fail to provide full details of prices and availability to fans waiting in online queues.
Under a new UK bill introduced to the House of Commons, the Sale of Tickets (Sporting and Cultural Events) Bill would also require ticketing businesses to print the final sale price on the face of a ticket.
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Labour MP Rupa Huq is behind the move, saying she wants to 'end nasty surprises' for people buying tickets. She tabled the bill after 'dynamic pricing' left some Oasis fans paying more than they expected to secure tickets for the band’s reunion gigs.
Oasis’s 2025 UK and Ireland tour has long since sold out.
But on the days that tickets went on sale, fans were left fuming at the prices of standard tickets more than doubling due to the implementation of dynamic pricing, where they go up with demand. As a result, some tickets marketed at £148 were sold for £355.
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The iconic Manchester rock band said they were unaware that dynamic pricing was being used for the tour. But Ticketmaster said that 'ticket prices are set by the tour', leading to somewhat of a conflict between the players involved.
Now, the Government and the UK’s competition watchdog have both pledged to look into the practice.
Huq’s Bill does not outlaw dynamic pricing but instead aims to give fans the details on what they can expect to pay at the start of the process.
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The Bill, which applies to England, Wales and Scotland, creates new offences that are punishable by a fine if a seller of tickets for sporting or cultural events is convicted.
Huq, the MP for Ealing Central and Acton, told PA: “This Bill would make it a stipulation that ticket-selling sites must advertise the full array of tickets remaining, quantities and prices to customers waiting in an online queue.
“It is not, as Tories have tried to label it, state interference in every aspect of life, but a consumer protection ensuring transparency and ending nasty surprises."
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She added: “A constituent contacted me who queued for hours to only see ‘standing only’ tickets at an astronomical £400. This would oblige these figures to be displayed with complete clarity, with consequences punishable by law for those that don’t. It’s great that we finally have a government that ‘gets it’ and has identified other problems which it is working to address.
“It was a Labour manifesto commitment that resale of tickets at inflated rates will end.”
Last week, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy reiterated the Government has a consultation designed to consider 'how best to put fans back at the heart of ticketing'.
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Huq said: “With my Bill in place, ministers and I are well placed to join forces to combat this great rock and roll swindle together and stop the ticket rip-off.”
Her Bill was listed for second reading on Friday (6 December) but was blocked from progressing after Government whip Christian Wakeford shouted 'object' when its title was read out.
Huq asked for the Bill to be listed again on 17 January. Whether it ever progresses to law remains to be seen, with it needing both parliamentary time and Government support to succeed.
Topics: Oasis, Ticketmaster, Music, Money, Politics, UK News
Tom Earnshaw