Oasis tickets: music  fans deserve fair priced tickets, not dynamic pricing

But those who paid sky-high prices for tickets sold by unscrupulous touts – or fell victim to a scam - have every right to look back on 2024 with anger.

It’s an uphill battle to get a seat for popular gigs and live sporting events these days but the sheer frenzy for Oasis' reunion laid bare just how shot the ticketing system is. Genuine fans are being fleeced – full stop.

According to analysis by the Competition and Market Authority (CMA), typical mark-ups on tickets sold on the secondary market are more than 50 per cent, and investigations by Trading Standards have uncovered evidence of tickets being resold for up to six times their original cost.

Virgin Media O2 say ticket touts cost music fans an extra £145 million per year. Lisa Nandy MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has launched a consultation to look at new measures to put fans firmly back at the heart of the live events sector.

So-called ’dynamic pricing’ – which was sprung on many unsuspecting Oasis fans when they reached the end of Ticketmaster’s queue – is also under the spotlight.

Introducing a cap on the price of ticket resales - seeking views on a range from the original price to up to a 30 per cent uplift, and limiting the number of tickets resellers can list to the maximum they are allowed to buy, is being reviewed.

Stronger fines and a new licensing regime for re-sale platforms to increase protections for consumers is also being looked at. Trading Standards can already issue fines of up to £5,000 for ticketing rule breaches but this could be increased.The c onsultation will also cover options to increasing the accountability of ticket resale websites and apps – creating new legal obligations so that they are held responsible by Trading Standards and the Competition and Market Authority for the accuracy of information they provide to fans.

We all deserve a fair shot at fair-priced tickets, but the current system leaves too many of us at risk of being ripped off.

Some might say that's bad enough, but it’s also damaging the relationship between fans, the live events industry and the artists themselves.

Thanks to this consultation, there’s hope. We can maybe stop crying our hearts out. In the meantime, I’ll be writing to Oasis to ask them to add more dates to their tour...