The European Commission is investigating Ticketmaster’s ability to raise concert prices based on demand – known as “dynamic pricing” – it’s been reported.
According to The Guardian, a spokesperson for the Commission, the main executive arm of the European Union, confirmed that it was investigating the use of dynamic pricing, with EU parliamentarians growing increasingly concerned amid the controversy over Oasis tickets since they went on sale on Saturday (August 31).
The Commission confirmed it was looking into dynamic pricing as part of its “fitness check” of EU consumer laws, which is expected to highlight the issues surrounding the practice. MEPs can then look at solutions, which could go as far as a ban.
While the Commission spokesperson said the practice isn’t unlawful in itself, the way in which it was used here could breach EU directives – like if the price is increased after a consumer already places the ticket in their online basket, or if companies don’t give fans “necessary material information” about the tickets before they’re purchased.
The Dutch MEP Lara Wolters told The Guardian she wanted new legislation introduced to protect consumers against dynamic pricing, saying: “The only winners in this situation are big ticketing platforms, at the expense of fans who find themselves priced out of gigs. Companies know far more about their customers than vice versa.
“This is not a system that seeks to maximise joy by filling the stadium with an artist’s biggest fans, but to maximise profit from music like any other product.”
The news comes as the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has said it’s “urgently reviewing” the use of dynamic pricing amid criticism from fans who tried to get tickets to Oasis’ reunion tour next year, with hundreds complaining to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Meanwhile, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute has also said Ticketmaster may be breaching consumer laws if it wasn’t made clear to fans that the price of standard standing tickets could rise.
It said Ticketmaster might have breached laws in the UK by raising the prices of some Oasis tickets from £135 to £350. For its part, the company has compared its use of dynamic pricing to airlines and hotels, which increase costs based on demand, and claimed that the prices are set by artists and their management themselves – Oasis and their management have not commented as yet in this instance.
Lisa Nandy, the UK’s Culture Secretary, has also called for a review into dynamic pricing and secondary ticket platforms, saying (via Sky News): “This government is committed to putting fans back at the heart of music. So we will include issues around the transparency and use of dynamic pricing, including the technology around queuing systems which incentivise it, in our forthcoming consultation on consumer protections for ticket resales.”
Some fans have been reminiscing about the time The Cure frontman Robert Smith fought with Ticketmaster to keep ticket costs down, while others have been re-sharing an old Liam Gallagher tweet in which he called out brother Noel over his own ticket prices.
