S Poddar
Oasis is set to cancel more than 50,000 tickets bought through secondary ticket sites for their much-anticipated UK reunion tour in 2025. The band has cautioned fans that tickets sold on other resale websites aside from their official partner, Twickets, at higher prices may be canceled.
This is the most eagerly awaited Oasis reunion tour to date, and anticipation among fans has been rampant all over the globe. In August, when tickets went on sale, more than 10 million fans from 158 countries stormed the internet for one of the 1.4 million available. The clear statement from Liam and Noel Gallagher about preventing resale for profit was somewhat flouted, as a whopping 4% of tickets, approximately 50,000, appeared on resale platforms, BBC News reports.
This response from Live Nation and SJM has stated that they would cancel all the tickets that are sold from unauthorized resell channels. The ticket then becomes available again through Ticketmaster for the fans to purchase it at original prices so as not to pass on a high bill on the day of the show. If a fan thinks that the cancellation is unlawful, the fan gets an opportunity to appeal this action for an investigation.
A spokesperson for the tour said, “These terms and conditions are in place successfully for action to be taken on secondary ticketing companies who resell the tickets for phenomenal profit. Only four percent of tickets have ended up on resale sites.”. Some high-profile tours have as much as 20 percent of its tickets appear on the large unauthorized secondary sites. Given this scenario, the representative suggested not to purchase it from unauthorized websites to avoid trouble like fraud and possible cancellations.
Criticism has come about the initial sale period of tickets, in which some fans found tickets priced higher than they had thought due to Ticketmaster’s “dynamic pricing” model. The ticket pricing system was introduced by Ticketmaster last year, in which the ticket prices change based on real-time demand, which in turn increases the chance of price hikes when there is a high demand for it. According to its website, this is comparable to how airlines and hotels do business; their “market-priced” tickets may change because of fluctuating demand.
The backlash from fans and music lovers has even reached the UK government. The UK’s Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy, expressed concerns about dynamic pricing’s effect on affordability and called for the review of the policy. Therefore, a new proposed law may soon make it compulsory for organizers to give maximum ticket prices at the very beginning of the buying process, giving fans better clarity before committing to buy.
Regarding the dynamic pricing scandal, Oasis put out a statement stating, “Oasis leave decisions on ticketing and pricing entirely to their promoters and management, and at no time had any awareness that dynamic pricing was going to be used.”
Despite the controversies surrounding ticket sales, there is still so much hype for Oasis’s tour in 2025; fans are eagerly waiting for the chance to see one of the most iconic bands perform together again. Promoters and management of the tour are still encouraging fans to buy tickets only from licensed sellers to avoid any mess. The cancellation of resale tickets is to prevent profiteering and ensure that a majority of the tickets go to genuine fans at fair prices.
