The Oasis Blunder – Thanks to Ticketmaster.

Ending a 15-year hiatus, brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher of Oasis announced a 2025 reunion tour. But following the announcement, the much anticipated tour from the Britpop duo kept taking hit after hit –  and we don’t mean chart-topping singles. 

The band’s upcoming reunion tour has been plagued by troubles, the most notable of which was the backlash over Ticketmaster’s “dynamic pricing” scheme that raised prices and angered fans. As a result, the UK’s competition regulator launched an investigation into whether consumer protection law was breached.

As if that weren’t enough, the BBC then reported more than 50,000 tickets sold on resale sites will be canceled by the band ahead of their UK tour dates. Under the guise of preventing price inflation and scalping, the band’s promoters, Live Nation and SJM, set out to prevent the sale of tickets on the secondary market. Ticketmaster did allow the resale of tickets through Twickets, a partner that calls itself an “ethical ticket marketplace” that allows fans to sell tickets at no more than face value, with fees. 

And what happens to the canceled tickets sold through “unauthorized” secondary ticketing platforms? The invalidated tickets will be made available again through Ticketmaster, of course. A curious consumer must ask whether this is truly to protect fans from inflated fees and scalpers or just another ruse to contain all profits and consumer data within the Ticketmaster ecosystem.

Clearly, the ticketing behemoth doesn’t balk at high prices and fees when they are the results of their “dynamic pricing” model or when sold through their own fan-to-fan resale marketplace. Yet, they don’t seem concerned enough about platform crashes and consumer experience to update their inadequate ticketing software. Allowing fans the choice of ticketing platforms and a competitive marketplace is where Ticketmaster evidently draws the line.

Whether it’s exclusionary contracts, blocking venues from using multiple ticket sellers, or exerting control over every aspect of the ticketing supply chain, it’s hard to argue Ticketmaster, or its parent Live Nation, sets out to help consumers. The Oasis reunion tour saga once again exposes Ticketmaster’s monopolistic practices and lack of regard for fans and consumers.