UK regulator shares update on investigation into Ticketmaster over Oasis sale

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority regulatory body has issued an update regarding its investigation into Ticketmaster over its Oasis reunion tour sale.

As previously reported, the CMA opened its investigation in September after fans complained of confusing prices and a frustrating queuing system while trying to buy tickets.

In a statement Tuesday, CMA says that Ticketmaster “may have breached consumer protection law” in the way it handled its sale, including “labelling certain seated tickets as ‘platinum’ and selling them for near 2.5 times the price of equivalent standard tickets, without sufficiently explaining that they did not offer additional benefits and were often located in the same area of the stadium.”

“This risked giving consumers the misleading impression that platinum tickets were better,” the CMA says.

The CMA also says while “many fans were under the impression that Ticketmaster used an algorithmic pricing model during the Oasis sale, with ticket prices adjusted in real time according to changing conditions like high demand,” it “has not found evidence that this was the case.”

“Instead, Ticketmaster released a number of standing tickets at a lower price and, once they had sold out, then released the remaining standing tickets at a much higher price,” the statement reads.

“We’re concerned that Oasis fans didn’t get the information they needed or may have been misled into buying tickets they thought were better than they were,” says Hayley Fletcher, interim senior director of consumer protection. “We now expect Ticketmaster to work with us to address these concerns so, in future, fans can make well-informed decisions when buying tickets.”

Oasis’ reunion tour, which will mark the first time the formerly estranged Liam and Noel Gallagher have shared the live stage since 2009, launches in the U.K. in July. It comes to the U.S. in August.

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority regulatory body has issued an update regarding its investigation into Ticketmaster over its Oasis reunion tour sale.

As previously reported, the CMA opened its investigation in September after fans complained of confusing prices and a frustrating queuing system while trying to buy tickets.

In a statement Tuesday, CMA says that Ticketmaster “may have breached consumer protection law” in the way it handled its sale, including “labelling certain seated tickets as ‘platinum’ and selling them for near 2.5 times the price of equivalent standard tickets, without sufficiently explaining that they did not offer additional benefits and were often located in the same area of the stadium.”

“This risked giving consumers the misleading impression that platinum tickets were better,” the CMA says.

The CMA also says while “many fans were under the impression that Ticketmaster used an algorithmic pricing model during the Oasis sale, with ticket prices adjusted in real time according to changing conditions like high demand,” it “has not found evidence that this was the case.”

“Instead, Ticketmaster released a number of standing tickets at a lower price and, once they had sold out, then released the remaining standing tickets at a much higher price,” the statement reads.

“We’re concerned that Oasis fans didn’t get the information they needed or may have been misled into buying tickets they thought were better than they were,” says Hayley Fletcher, interim senior director of consumer protection. “We now expect Ticketmaster to work with us to address these concerns so, in future, fans can make well-informed decisions when buying tickets.”

Oasis’ reunion tour, which will mark the first time the formerly estranged Liam and Noel Gallagher have shared the live stage since 2009, launches in the U.K. in July. It comes to the U.S. in August.