The government has promised to look into dynamic ticket pricing, after the cost of tickets for the Oasis reunion tour more than doubled while on sale.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy described the selling of inflated Oasis tickets as “incredibly depressing” as she said surge pricing would be included in a government review of the secondary gig sales market.
On Saturday, fans of the world-famous band sat in virtual queues for hours hoping to get their hands on tickets to one of the reunion shows next year.
However, when they got through the two queues and lengthy waits, many were met with ticket prices far higher than face value.
Fans found themselves stuck in queues on Saturday during the scramble for Oasis tickets
Some expressed their anger on social media, as tickets worth £148 were being sold for £355 on Ticketmaster within hours of release, due to the dynamic pricing systems.
Speaking over the weekend, Ms Nandy announced that such issues, as well as the “technology around queuing systems which incentivise it”, would be looked into in an upcoming government consultation.
She said: “After the incredible news of Oasis’s return, it’s depressing to see vastly inflated prices excluding ordinary fans from having a chance of enjoying their favourite band live.
“This government is committed to putting fans back at the heart of music.
“So we will include issues around the transparency and use of dynamic pricing, including the technology around queuing systems which incentivise it, in our forthcoming consultation on consumer protections for ticket resales.
“Working with artists, industry, and fans we can create a fairer system that ends the scourge of touts, rip-off resales, and ensures tickets at fair prices.”
Government minister Lucy Powell was among those hit by dynamic pricing on Saturday, and eventually forked out more than double the original quoted cost of a ticket for an Oasis show.
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It comes after Noel and Liam Gallagher confirmed the band’s long-awaited reunion on Tuesday last week.
Dynamic pricing is common within industries beyond music, with it being used frequently in the travel industry, with the likes of hotel rooms and airline tickets.
Frequent Taylor Swift collaborator Jack Antonoff previously said that dynamic pricing is an issue.
He told Stereogum that he wanted artists to be able to opt out of the system and be able to sell them at the price they chose.
Ticketmaster has been approached for comment.
