Ticketmaster will cancel about 50,000 tickets for the UK and Ireland dates of Oasis’s reunion tour for violating the company’s terms and conditions in the coming weeks, the BBC reports.
The tickets concerned are listed for sale on unofficial secondary websites such as Viagogo – as opposed to the official resale partner, Twickets, where tickets can only be resold at face value. Promoters Live Nation – which is part of Ticketmaster – and SJM told the BBC that 4% of tickets sold – close to 50,000 – ended up on resale sites.
Billboard reported that the promoters said that the affected tickets were bought using prohibited techniques, including acquiring more than four tickets per household, per show, and using multiple identities to buy tickets, as well as relying on VPN services and multiple credit cards.
All invalidated tickets will be made available for resale on Ticketmaster at face value, offering a sliver of hope to the 10 million fans from 158 countries who vied for the 1.4m tickets originally on sale for the dates next summer.
A spokesperson for the promoters did not confirm whether the resale would be subject to dynamic pricing, the practice of inflating prices based on demand that caused controversy around the original sale – and was later scrapped for the international sales for dates in North and South America and Australia.
In a statement, Ticketmaster said that the terms and conditions put in place to protect the tour from illegitimate resale had largely been successful considering that some major tours can see up to 20% of tickets appearing on unauthorised secondary ticketing sites.
“The examination of ticket sales is ongoing and the results will be passed to relevant law enforcement where appropriate,” it said, urging fans not to buy tickets from unauthorised websites, as they may be fraudulent or subject to cancellation. Any fans who believe their tickets have been cancelled in error should appeal to the relevant agent.
Viagogo told the BBC that it would nonetheless continue to sell tickets for the tour. Matt Drew, from Viagogo’s business development, told BBC Radio’s File on 4: “2% of Oasis tickets are on Viagogo and StubHub. We will continue to sell them in the way the regulator says we can. We are serving a clear consumer need, we will continue doing it on that basis.”
A Viagogo spokesperson told the Guardian: “Ticket resale in the UK is legal and we want to reassure fans buying tickets on Viagogo that we are fully compliant with the law and guidelines set out by relevant regulators. Every order on our platform is protected by our money-back guarantee.
“Threats from promoters to cancel tickets unfairly target fans who chose to buy on a secure, transparent, and highly regulated resale marketplace.”
Cast and Richard Ashcroft were recently confirmed to support Oasis on their UK and Ireland dates.
• This article was updated on 29 October 2024. A spokesperson for the promoters did not confirm whether the resale tickets would be subject to dynamic pricing, not for the band as previously stated.
