The European Commission also intends to investigate the dynamic pricing practice used in the sale of Oasis tickets. This was learned by GuardianYesterday's news was that the British government intends to carry out an “urgent” review of the use of dynamic pricing in the United Kingdom.
As is known, the dynamic pricing system is already used in the United States, a sensational case that has raised strong discontent is that of Bruce Springsteen's tour. In essence, the price of the ticket varies according to the demand: the more people request a certain category of ticket, the more the price will increase in real time beyond the announced one, the so-called face value.
The justification for using this practice is that for the most popular concerts, those same tickets would still be sold at a higher price on the secondary market. If people are willing to spend 400 euros for a ticket that is worth 150, say the supporters of dynamic pricing, it is better that the ones who collect that surplus are the artists and the organizers, not scalpers and speculators. Especially since the prices set by dynamic pricing are still lower than the “crazy” ones found on the secondary market.
Those who oppose the practice consider it morally unacceptable and think that, by applying this system, artists put themselves on the same level as speculators who make money on the passion of fans.
On the one hand, Oasis have tried to limit secondary market speculation, warning not to resell tickets at a higher price or they will be cancelled. On the other hand, they have allowed the official price of some tickets to increase from 135 to 350 pounds on the Ticketmaster website thanks to dynamic pricing. The ticketing giant claims that the practice is perfectly legal, that it is used for the prices of flights and hotel rooms, and that in any case the price and mechanism are set by the group and its management.
After the English Competition and Markets Authority, which announced an investigation, also representatives of the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union chaired by Ursula von der Leyen, said that (we quote the Guardian) «we are looking into the use of dynamic pricing for concert tickets, following growing concerns from Brussels MEPs».
One of the MPs is Dutchwoman Lara Wolters (Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats). “From this situation,” she says, “only the big ticketing platforms emerge as winners, and this to the detriment of the fans.” For Wolters, there is also an ethical and, let's say, romantic aspect: “This system does not aim to maximize joy by filling stadiums with an artist's most ardent fans, but to maximize profit from music as with any other product. It is a soulless system and I intend to put an end to it.”
For the first time, the use of dynamic pricing in ticket sales in Europe is causing a stir and could lead to some legislative initiative to limit or better regulate the practice. The problem is not in dynamic pricing itself, which is not against the law, but in the lack of transparency towards consumers since the seller is obliged to “provide clear and accurate information on the price that the consumer will pay”, which would not have happened with Oasis tickets. In short, consumers would not have been warned of the use of dynamic pricing. The other problem is the possible increase in price during the transaction, from when the consumer clicks on “buy” to when he finds it in the “cart”.
There has been no comment from the group so far. However, some users have retrieved a tweet from 2017 in which Liam Gallagher took issue with his brother over the pieces of the tickets: “$350 to go see Rkid in the US: what a dick.”
Meanwhile, according to what is reported Wales Onlineone of the secondary platforms chosen for the resale of Oasis tickets, Twickets, has announced the reduction of commissions to 10% after many complaints on social media from fans, with a maximum cap of fees at £25 per ticket. Fans who paid higher fees will be refunded.