Ticketmaster will have to provide customers with more information about different types of tickets after a government investigation identified major issues with its dynamic pricing model. The investigation was launched after some Oasis fans saw the price of standard tickets rise to more than double the original price – from £148 to £355 – as they waited in Ticketmaster queues last year. Investigations by Trading Standards also uncovered evidence of tickets being sold for up to six times their original cost.
Ticketmaster did not tell fans waiting in lenthy queues that standing tickets were being sold at two different prices, which jumped as soon as the cheaper tickets sold out, a new deep-dive by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has revealed. The government department also found that the online seller was flogging ‘platinum tickets’ at almost 2.5 times the price of their standard equivalent, without “sufficient information” that they offered no additional benefits to standard tickets in the same areas of the venue.
Ticketmaster has been ordered to make four changes in response to the findings, including telling fans about tiered pricing systems 24 hours in advance and providing more information about ticket prices for customers waiting in online queues to help them anticipate how much they will need to pay.
The California-based firm will also be forbidden from using “misleading ticket labels” or giving the impression that one ticket is better than another when that is not the case. It will also have to provide regular reports to the CMA, showing evidence that it is implementing the changes over the next two years. A failure to comply could result in the CMA pursuing enforcement action.
Mark-ups on Oasis tickets sold on the secondary market were more than 50% after the band’s long-awaited reunion tour was announced last August, the CMA said.
Dynamic pricing involves sellers adjusting the prices of products in real-time, based on fluctuating demand and reliant on people being willing to pay varying amounts for the same thing, depending on their circumstances and its perceived value.
Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA, said: “Fans who spend their hard-earned money to see artists they love deserve to see clear, accurate information, upfront. We can’t ensure every fan gets a ticket for events as popular as the Oasis tour, but we can help ensure that next time an event like this comes along, fans have the information they need, when they need it.
“The changes we’ve secured will give fans more information about prices and clear descriptions of exactly what they are getting for their money. If Ticketmaster fails to deliver on these changes, we won’t hesitate to take further action.”
Oasis announced their reunion tour last August, 16 years after they dramatically split when Noel Gallagher quit after a backstage row at the Rock en Seine festival in Paris in 2009.
The CMA previously said dynamic pricing is becoming increasingly common in sectors including entertainment and retail. Following a formal investigation, it found that Ticketmaster had not used a response algorithm to dynamically price tickets for the Oasis reunion concerts, but the government department was prompted to reassess whether the model – which is not unlawful – was in the interest of customers.