Last weekend, Oasis tickets were in high demand across the UK. Millions of people attempted to secure a place at one of 17 shows, cutting across generations – from middle-aged indie kids to teens who only recently discovered the Gallagher brothers. However, what followed was public outcry after several hours of sitting in online ticket queues, only to find at checkout that the price of the tickets had more than doubled. Ticketmaster put the blame on the band’s promoters and management, while Oasis themselves distanced themselves from the debacle.
Dynamic pricing, used in industries such as hotels and flights for years, is not new in the United States but looks set to become more prevalent in the UK. While price changes usually happen gradually and based on demand, the huge price hike for Oasis tickets in one moment does not sound like dynamic pricing. Skiddle, co-founded by Ben Sebborn, is a free facility for over 45,000 promoters to list their events online and sell tickets through its independent ticketing service. Event organisers can choose whether to show pricing tiers up front, but the customer cannot see how many tickets are available at each tier. Although dynamic pricing is not specifically prohibited by consumer protection law, it is a breach of consumer protection if a trader misleads consumers regarding the price of goods and services.
Ticketmaster, one of three official sellers for the tour, sold the majority of Oasis tour tickets. Although many fans gained access and the platform did not crash, many were flagged as bots and lost their places in the queue. It is a difficult problem to solve since the smarter technology becomes, the smarter the bots become, the more AI gets involved – and the harder it is to differentiate. As part of its investigation, the CMA is inviting fans to submit evidence of their experiences in attempting to buy Oasis tickets, such as screenshots of the ordering process.
