Ticketmaster—Ticketmaster's dynamic pricing for Oasis reunion tickets sparked public backlash and UK regulatory response
In August 2024, Ticketmaster's 'dynamic pricing' algorithm more than doubled the face value of Oasis reunion tour tickets during high-demand on-sale, with some tickets rising from £135 to over £350. The incident triggered widespread public outrage, a UK Competition and Markets Authority investigation, and ultimately the passage of the UK Sale of Tickets (Standardised Pricing) Bill to ban dynamic pricing for live events. Ticketmaster faced accusations of exploiting fans after they had queued for hours.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer Protection | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.858 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (high ×1.5) × confidence (0.57)
Evidence (1 signal)
Guardian investigation into Ticketmaster's Oasis dynamic pricing scandal
The Guardian extensively covered the Oasis reunion ticket dynamic pricing scandal, where Ticketmaster's surge pricing algorithm more than doubled ticket prices from £135 to over £350, sparking public outrage and a CMA investigation that led to the UK Sale of Tickets Bill banning dynamic pricing.