Oasis tickets: Bands and promoters have the power to stop dynamic ticket pricing – if they want to

Depressing? That’s how you describe this summer’s weather. Try sickening, infuriating and disgusting to cover that gnawing, horrible feeling you’ve all just been taken for a ride.

Apparently, her Government is “committed to putting fans back at the heart of music” - and if that doesn’t make the shortlist for Pointless Platitudes Of The Year then I don’t know what will.

There’s a review in the pipeline, but, like most Government consultations it’ll crawl along at a snail’s pace and deliver something half-baked. The fact that it needs Government intervention to put fans first sums up how disgraceful the current system is.

I’m old enough to remember the days when you queued outside a record shop or the venue itself to buy a ticket, and a wee person behind the counter handed you the much sought after pass which got you in.

Re-sale consisted of a dodgy blokes with pony tails who hung around, muttering “any spare tickets, got any spare tickets” and I can still recall the absolute fear the first time I used a tout to get a ticket to see Whitesnake’s second night at the Playhouse. I was terrified I wouldn’t get in.

Decades later and I bought a Springsteen ticket off a fella in a car park outside Hampden, both for face value - well, dynamic pricing doesn’t really kick in when the gig is an hour away, does it?

I’ve no interest in Oasis but felt the pain and anger of fans whose hopes and dreams timed out in a never ending queue. Online, no-one can hear you scream, and for those who made it to the end to then find out the ticket with a £150 price tag was now £375, well that’s a right kick in the encores.

Imagine standing in the queue at Morrison’s with a four-pint carton of milk. In front of you are two couples and a retired chap, each with the same product. Each time the scanner goes beep, the price goes up and instead of paying £1.45, you’re suddenly asked for £4.50. That’s dynamic pricing for you.

The principal should also work in reverse - low demand leading to a lower price. Pardon my cynicism but when it comes to concert tickets - aye, right pal.

Ticketmaster may be the bogeyman, but the blame for this mess rests with bands and promoters. They set the prices, they know the chaos that will follow, and they do little to counter it. I wonder if they even care. The response of Bruce Springsteen’s management to the backlash in 2023 was cloth-eared, and Oasis have said nowt.

But others have - and shown that you can treat your fans with respect by selling tickets at a reasonable price.

The Cure opted out of dynamic pricing altogether with singer Robert Smith branding it “a greedy scam” which is probably the phrase Lisa Nandy should have used instead of the wishy-washy “depressing.”

Taylor Swift also binned the principal of ripping off fans knowing full well demand for her gigs would skyrocket, and didn’t Crowded House insist on fans being refunded the moment they found out what was going on? If they can do it, so should every single band. There is no excuse for treating fans as cash cows. This is greed – pure and simple.

The game’s up. The industry must do better.