The U.K.’s competition regulator has launched a formal investigation into Ticketmaster after tickets for Oasis’ reunion show went on sale last weekend. The Competition and Markets Authority said it would investigate the company’s dynamic pricing practice and whether it broke consumer law.
Dynamic pricing involves a business adjusting prices based on changing market conditions, such as demand. Airlines are among those that use this model. Some Oasis fans who tried hard to get tickets for the band’s first shows in 16 years had to wait for hours in Ticketmaster’s virtual queues.
When they were finally able to buy tickets, some found they were two or three times more expensive than they expected due to dynamic pricing. Ticketmaster often gives customers just a few moments to complete a purchase after adding tickets to their cart, so fans have to make quick decisions about paying far more than they expected.
The CMA will investigate the pressure that ticking clock puts on consumers’ purchasing decisions. It will also seek to determine whether Ticketmaster has engaged in “unfair commercial practices” that are prohibited under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulation Act 2008.
In addition, the watchdog will investigate whether customers were “given clear and timely information that tickets may be subject to so-called ‘dynamic pricing’, in which prices vary depending on demand, and how this will operate, including how much they will have to pay for any tickets purchased.”
The CMA noted that while dynamic pricing is not inherently illegal under UK law, ticket sales platforms should be transparent with customers, and provide clear and accurate details about how much they have to pay. The watchdog said the practice may in some cases violate consumer protection or competition law.
Oasis criticised the use of dynamic pricing for the band’s long-awaited reunion shows. “It should be made clear that Oasis leaves decisions on ticketing and pricing entirely to its promoters and management,” the band said in a statement.
It claimed it had “no knowledge that dynamic pricing was being used.” Other high-profile artists, including Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and The Cure, have declined to use dynamic pricing for recent shows.
Following the scramble for Oasis tickets, the UK government has pledged to consider dynamic pricing as part of a consultation into the secondary-ticket market this fall.
In the US, the Justice Department and several state and district attorneys general filed an antitrust lawsuit to break up Ticketmaster owner Live Nation. They claim it has a monopoly on the live entertainment industry. Ticketmaster was also the victim of a cyberattack this year in which hackers gained access to personal information on 560 million customers.