A leading US ticket seller, Ticketmaster, has decided to increase transparency in its pricing after facing significant backlash from fans who paid extremely high prices for tickets to the Oasis reunion tour, according to Britain’s competition authority on Thursday.

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority initiated an inquiry into the company last year due to worries that it had deceived supporters into purchasing expensive tickets.

Ticketmaster committed to providing more transparent details about ticket costs and avoiding deceptive labels, according to a statement released by the CMA on Thursday.

“The modifications we have achieved will provide supporters with additional details regarding costs and explicit explanations of precisely what they are paying for,” stated CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell.

“If Ticketmaster doesn’t implement these changes, we’ll not hesitate to pursue additional measures,” she added.

For decades, Ticketmaster has faced anger and frustration from both musicians and attendees, as concert fans have voiced complaints about high ticket prices, unclear pricing structures, and technical issues.

Last week, the leading US regulatory body, the Federal Trade Commission, filed a lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation, accusing the company of colluding with brokers to raise concert ticket prices and mislead customers through undisclosed charges.

The UK inquiry followed reports that Ticketmaster had sold so-called platinum tickets which provided no extra advantages.

The company also failed to inform customers about the existence of two types of standing tickets priced differently, where the pricier options became available once the cheaper ones were sold out.

This led to supporters standing in long digital lines, only to discover that costs had risen significantly beyond their expectations.

The CMA found no proof that Ticketmaster implemented dynamic pricing, which involves adjusting prices in real time according to demand.

The frantic rush for the highly sought-after tickets came after an August 2024 statement revealed that brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher had put an end to their well-known 15-year conflict and were reuniting for a global tour.

The British pop group launched a global tour in July, with Ticketmaster selling over 900,000 tickets for the performances.

Leave a comment

Trending