‘Some Might Say’ Dynamic Pricing Ruining Concerts

2024 has seen a multitude of artists take to stages across the world, with even more artists announcing their tours for later this year and beyond. Artists such as Sabrina Carpenter, Coldplay, Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift are some of many who are currently touring or set to tour in the upcoming year.

However, the highly anticipated reunion of Oasis, following their split in August 2009, has caused controversy regarding the use of Dynamic Pricing in their ticket sales. Whilst they are not the first artists to use Dynamic Pricing, the estimated 14 million who scrambled to get tickets across the 17 shows certainly expressed their opinions on social media.

‘Dynamic Pricing’ is the process in which ticket prices are altered based on their demand. Whilst many turned to criticise the ticketing platform known as Ticketmaster, they aren’t fully responsible. Dynamic Pricing is an opt in scheme for artists using the platform, and many are opting out. For example, Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour, which spans an impressive 152 shows did not opt into Dynamic Pricing for her UK dates, which had tickets ranging from £58.65 to £194.75. With a whopping 91.3 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and The Eras Tour consisting of a three and a half hour long show, the demand for her tickets was understandably insane. So why did Taylor opt out of Dynamic Pricing, and what caused Oasis not to?

Following hours of virtual queuing online, fans came face to face with the true extent of Dynamic Pricing. Tickets advertised as £148 had surged to £355, due to their ‘high demand’. Appalled at this, many took to social media to express their frustrations. One user on X declared that he “didn’t expect [Oasis] to rip off the fans as much as they have done”, an opinion that was shared by many across multiple social media platforms. As for this one fan, his tweet caught the attention of Liam Gallagher, who responded to the tweet with a rather short but sweet “SHUTUP”. Liam has a rather active profile on X, with a follower count of 3.8 million as of early October, on which he actively engages with his fans even those who don’t share such a positive opinion of the Britpop artist.

Personally, I can’t help but question the motive behind Ticketmaster’s and artists use of Dynamic Pricing. As someone who is set to see Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter in the first half of next year, and saw Blackpink in 2022, I first hand witnessed Dynamic Pricing. If ticket prices are being raised due to ‘high demand’, surely this demand is anticipated? Sabrina Carpenter holds 80 million monthly listeners on Spotify alone, so why are fans being charged more because they admire a popular artist? The argument then arises following this – is someone a ‘better’ fan because they are willing to pay a higher price? In my opinion, the answer is simply no. Dynamic Pricing advantages those who can pay dynamic prices. Back in my hometown I left behind my dad, Gary, and my Oasis obsessed 14-year-old brother Warren, both of whom sat on multiple devices for the duration of my 8-hour shift attempting to get tickets to see the reunion of the Gallagher brothers. Like millions of others, they were unsuccessful in their attempts. For many, the lack of communication about this Dynamic Pricing meant that when they surpassed the virtual Ticketmaster gates, they had to choose between paying the more than advertised prices, or risk losing their tickets. Fans have confessed that they have turned to loans to pay for the tickets, which raises the ultimate question? Should ticket sites be using Dynamic Pricing?

To conclude, personally I don’t believe Dynamic Pricing should be implemented in the ticket buying process. Its flaws have been clearly highlighted by recent events, and with more artists choosing to opt out the scheme, it’s causing more and more online controversy. However, with the scheme still available, I pose the question – will buying tickets ever be a fair experience?

Words by Ellanor Walls

Cover photo credit: Simon Emmett