Oasis-Ticketmaster fiasco inspires investigation across the pond

Looks like Ticketmaster may be forced to look back in anger at all the ways they fucked up last week’s Oasis sale. The company’s hours-long queues and controversial “dynamic pricing” scheme (which raises ticket costs based on demand) caused thousands of Oasis fans to miss out on a concert they had been waiting literal decades for. People—even members of Parliament—were not happy, to say the absolute least. Which leads us to a question we never thought we’d get to ask: who has more impact on their country’s economy, Oasis or Taylor Swift?

In 2022 and 2023, Swifties (and a bunch of Swift-quoting senators) infamously moved to bring Ticketmaster to justice for making it next to impossible to score Eras Tour tickets without giving up one’s entire life savings first. While that process is still ongoing, the Swifties may be lapped by Oasis fans bringing the hopeful reckoning across the pond. According to Variety, the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) formally opened an investigation into Ticketmaster’s compliance with consumer protection laws today.

In a statement, the CMA said they were investigating whether “Ticketmaster has engaged in unfair commercial practices,” whether “people were given clear and timely information to explain that the tickets could be subject to so-called ‘dynamic pricing’ with prices changing depending on demand, and how this would operate, including the price they would pay for any tickets purchased,” and if “people were put under pressure to buy tickets within a short period of time—at a higher price than they understood they would have to pay, potentially impacting their purchasing decisions.” They also stress that “it should not be assumed that Ticketmaster has broken consumer protection law.” The agency is currently gathering evidence from both Ticketmaster and spurned Oasis fans.

Even if the company is not found to have broken any official laws, how they have been operating is still incredibly frustrating. Before the investigation was made official, U.K. Culture Minister Lisa Nandy pledged to end “rip-off resales” and make sure tickets were sold “at fair prices.” It’s “depressing to see vastly inflated prices excluding ordinary fans,” she added, according to Variety.

Luckily, some of those ripped off fans will get a second chance to see the band. Yesterday, the Gallaghers announced that they’d be adding two more Wembley shows as “a small step towards making amends for the situation.” The shows will employ some sort of “special invitation only ballot ticket sale strategy,” with preference going to “the many fans who were unsuccessful in the initial on sale with Ticketmaster.” May the odds be ever in their favor.