Controversial Tickets: Ticketmaster is required to change rules after British government investigation

Chaos in selling tickets for the meeting tour Oasis In 2025 finally generated concrete consequences. After months of investigation, the British government was able to force the Ticketmaster Implementing significant changes in their sales practices, promising greater transparency for fans who faced abusive prices and misleading information during the race for the awaited tour tickets Live ’25.

The controversy exploded when thousands of fans spent hours in virtual lines, just to find that tickets cost much more than initially announced. Many have been caught by surprise with sudden prices increases, raising suspicions about the use of “Dynamic Pricing”, a system that adjusts real -time values ​​as demanded, similar to that used by airlines and hotels.

The situation was so serious that the Secretary of Culture Lisa Nandy He asked for a complete review of dynamic prices and ticket sales in the secondary market. The Prime Minister Keir Strmer He classified the increases as “depressing,” while the European Commission confirmed that it would also investigate the case. The UK Competition and Markets (CMA) authority came into action to examine if the Ticketmaster had violated consumer protection laws.

Now, after a year of investigation, the CMA got formal commitments of the Ticketmaster to ensure greater transparency. Changes include 24 -hour warnings in advance whenever a staggered price system is used, allowing fans to know if there are multiple values ​​for the same type of ticket. The company will also provide more price information during lines online so that people have a better idea than they can afford.

The investigation revealed two main problems in selling the tickets of the Oasis. First, the Ticketmaster He did not say fans in the lines that track tickets were being sold at two different prices, with the values ​​jumping thus the cheaper tickets were running out. Second, the company sold some “Platinum” tickets almost twice and a half times the price of “standard” tickets, without explaining that they did not offer additional benefits over normal tickets in the same areas.

“Fans who spend their sweaty money to see artists who love deserve clear and accurate information from the beginning,” he said Sarah CardellCEO of CMA, as reported by NME. “We cannot guarantee that every fan gets a ticket for events as popular as the tour of the OasisBut we can help ensure that the next time such an event happens, fans have the necessary information when they need it. ”

THE Ticketmaster You will have to report to the CMA regularly on how you implemented these changes in the next two years. Failure can result in inspection actions. Interestingly, the investigation found no evidence that the dreaded “Dynamic Pricing” was actually used in the sale of Oasiscontrary to the initial suspicions of fans.

In response to CMA’s discoveries, a spokesman for Ticketmaster said to NME: “We greeted the confirmation of the CMA that there have been no dynamic prices, unfair practices and that we do not violate the consumer law. To further improve the customer experience, we voluntarily commit to clearer communication about row ticket prices.”

Meanwhile, in the United States, the situation of Ticketmaster It is even more complicated. American regulators are processing the company and its controller Live nation For “illegal” tactics in the resale of tickets, claiming that they coordinated with money changers to buy tickets and resolve them with substantial margins. The US Department of Justice also filed an antitrust action against the Live nation supposedly maintaining an illegal monopoly in the live music industry.

+++ Read more: UK regulatory organ alerts Ticketmaster on Oasis tour
+++ Read more: Tickets for shows are cheaper than they should, according to CEO of Live Nation

• Live nation

• Oasis

• Oasis Live ’25

• Ticketmaster