Oasis and “dynamic pricing”: what is it, when did it get brought in and why do some artists agree to it?

• Tickets for Oasis’ long-awaited reunion have gone on sale over the weekend.
• But alongside the digital queues fans have faced, many have been priced out of tickets due to “dynamic pricing.”
• So what is “dynamic pricing” and are all artists in support of the fluctuating ticket prices? 

UPDATE: Twickets have announced this afternoon that due to public demand, they will be lowering their fees to 10% + a 1% transactional fee, with a cap of £25 per ticket for these shows. Richard Davies CEO of Twickets, has commented: "The face value of a ticket is the total amount it was first purchased for, including any booking fee. Twickets does not set the face value price, that is determined by the event and the original ticketing company. The price listed on our platform is set by the seller, however no one is permitted to sell above the face-value on Twickets, and every ticket is checked before listing that it complies with this policy.”

Are you one of the lucky ones that have already claimed Oasis tickets, as the band announced their long awaited reunion last week?

If you are - congratulations. You are one of the few who not only managed to avoid system issues with Ticketmaster and dealt with the queuing. But it wasn’t so much the wait for tickets to see the band performing across the United Kingdom in 2025 but the problem regarding ticket prices. 

Some on social media channels have discussed how they saw tickets on StubHub, a resellers market, for almost double or triple their face value, while others have felt that the “dynamic pricing” model that Ticketmaster use to fluctuate during high-demand have now priced “legitimate” fans from seeing the band’s hallowed reunion shows.

The controversy surroudning the cost of tickets to see Oasis’ reunion has also prompted comments from the UK government, with Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy saying she wants to end "rip-off resales" and ensure tickets are sold "at fair prices" and that it was "depressing to see vastly inflated prices excluding ordinary fans" from gigs.

But what exactly is “dynamic pricing,” when was it first introduced by Ticketmaster and are all artists for the business model, owing to the ticketing company suggesting that it would curb a resellers market, leading to more revenue for artists and promoters (and, of course, Ticketmaster themselves?)

What is “dynamic pricing”?

Ticketmaster's "Dynamic Pricing" is a pricing strategy that adjusts the price of tickets in real-time based on demand, similar to how prices for airline tickets or hotel rooms fluctuate. 

The business model is meant to allow ticket prices to rise or fall depending on various factors such as the popularity of the event, the time of purchase, and the number of remaining tickets - in this case, for Oasis’ reunion shows.

If a particular event is in high demand and tickets are selling quickly, prices may increase. However,  if demand is lower, prices might drop to encourage sales. Prices can change at any moment, reflecting the current market conditions. 

This means that the same ticket could have different prices at different times or for different buyers, depending on when they attempt to make the purchase.

The system is designed to reflect what the market is willing to pay at any given time. For popular events, this often results in significantly higher prices, sometimes even reaching several times the face value of the ticket - as is the case with Oasis tickets. 

When did “dynamic pricing” first get introduced for ticketing?

Ticketmaster officially adopted the business model in 2018, after seeing the success of “dynamic pricing” for events in the early ‘00s such as the San Francisco Giants baseball team adopted the model for their ticket pricing in 2011.

In particular, Ticketmaster adopted “dynamic pricing” as part of their "Official Platinum Seats" program, which aimed to adjust prices in real-time to reflect market demand.

Why did “dynamic pricing” get introduced for ticket sales?

Several reasons that Ticketmaster stated for the reasons behind “dynamic pricing” include the supply and demand aspect for certain tickets, with the idea that those tickets should be adjusted to reflect the “higher demand” for certain concerts. 

Ticketmaster also pointed out that the move was to combat the secondary ticket market, where popular events would sell out only to have those tickets appear on websites such as eBay or StubHub for an inflated price. The idea was that the money for an increased cost of a ticket would return to the artists rather than to those who bulk bought tickets to resell elsewhere. 

For artists and promoters, dynamic pricing is a way to maximise earnings from ticket sales. By adjusting prices to match demand, they can generate more revenue than they would with a fixed pricing model, especially for in-demand events. In high-demand situations, the profit margins on tickets can be significantly increased, benefiting both the artists and promoters.

However despite the attempts to prevent a secondary market for tickets, it still exists - with Oasis themselves having to issue a statement on social media that any tickets sold on the resellers market for an inflated amount will not be honoured at the shows, Those sold at face value through Ticketmaster ot Twickets will be honoured though

Are all artists for “dynamic pricing?”

No - thankfully. Despite Ticketmaster’s assurances to artists and promoters that the market is fair, a number of musicians still believe that the business model will affect those fans who cannot afford the tickets, and slowly but surely getting priced out of attending live shows (see: Sabrina Carpenter, Catfish and the Bottlemen tickets.)

Taylor Swift has continually voiced her displeasure over dynamic pricing, to the point that the pop superstar did not opt in for her tickets to be part of the model to allow most of her fans access to her shows. A similar situation also involved Ed Sheeran, who despite the cost of his tickets being quite high were not fluctuating due to market demand.

Older musicians have also voiced their displeasure over dynamic pricing: The Cure's lead singer Robert Smith also voiced strong opposition to the practice during their 2023 tour. He worked to keep ticket prices low and even arranged partial refunds for fans after Ticketmaster's fees led to higher-than-expected costs.

Are you one of the lucky ones who managed to pick up Oasis tickets when they went on sale, or have you had problems getting tickets due to dynamic pricing? Share your experiences with buying tickets in recent years by dropping a comment down below.