Ticketmaster changes rules after Oasis row
Ticketmaster is being forced to change the way it advertises prices to fans before tickets go on sale, which comes after “misleading” information led to a row surrounding the Oasis reunion tour.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an investigation into the company last year, after there was major controversy over the sale of tickets for the highly-anticipated return of the Gallagher brothers for the first time in 16 years.
Ticketmaster was accused of using dynamic pricing without fans’ knowledge, where tickets were majorly inflated beyond their original £148.50 price point, with some reaching in excess of £350. Although the CMA has ruled that the company did not break consumer protection law, it has demanded that they are more transparent with fans over the pricing process.
Despite this, when releasing the conclusions of its investigation on September 25th, the CMA said it found no evidence of Ticketmaster using dynamic pricing in real time to adjust prices due to demand, but it has “secured formal commitments” from the company to ensure it provides more information about this in future.
This includes releasing information to fans 24 hours before a ticket sale begins if tiered pricing is being used, as well as updating fans during queues when cheaper tickets have sold out. It said Ticketmaster must not also use “misleading” labels to market one ticket type as being better than another when they are not, and added it will closely monitor this over the next two years.
In response to the findings of the investigation, the chief executive of the CMA, Sarah Cardell, said: “Fans who spend their hard-earned money to see artists they love deserve to see clear, accurate information, upfront. If Ticketmaster fails to deliver on these changes, we won’t hesitate to take further action.”
Similarly, Ticketmaster also noted: “We welcome the CMA’s confirmation there was no dynamic pricing, no unfair practices and that we did not breach consumer law. To further improve the customer experience, we’ve voluntarily committed to clearer communication about ticket prices in queues,” then adding, “we encourage the CMA to hold the entire industry to these same standards.”
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