Fatboy Slim has weighed in on the ticket fiasco around the Oasis 2025 reunion tour, and labelled the use of dynamic pricing as “sick”.
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Liam and Noel Gallagher announced the reformation of the iconic Britpop band earlier this year, and confirmed that they will be playing their first live shows together since 2009 next summer.
The dates kick off with huge stadium gigs in the UK and Ireland, and from there will head to North America before returning for two extra dates at London’s Wembley Stadium in late September. The brothers then confirmed Australia for shows in Melbourne and Sydney, before announcing their first South American dates in 16 years.
Upon tickets going live for the UK and Ireland shows, however, the band were at the centre of controversy when some fans found huge price increases due to Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing policy upon accessing ticket pages.
The ticketing platform’s “surge pricing” scheme, introduced in 2022, increases ticket prices based on demand. Ticketmaster have clarified on their website previously that tickets that are “market-priced” and “may increase or decrease at any time, based on demand. This is similar to how airline tickets and hotel rooms are sold.”
Now, Fatboy Slim has shared his thoughts on the ticketing strategy implemented, and expressed his contempt for dynamic pricing being used for live performances.
Fatboy Slim performs during Victorious Festival 2024. CREDIT: Mark Holloway/Redferns/Getty Images
“The only problem I have got is with scalping the fans. That dynamic pricing, that is ripping off the fans. It is like auctioning tickets because you know they are doing well,” he told The Sun’s Bizarre column. “It is bad enough with the touts doing it, but the actual promoter and band doing it, it is sick.”
He continued: “As far as I know, it has never happened on my watch. I get a say on making tickets, on the whole, cheap. I always say, ‘Let’s have a fair price’. Ticket prices are so exorbitant. It is just profit for people who are very, very rich already – and that is for the bands and the promoters.
“I can’t see how you can justify making it even more expensive, just because you know you have got a gig that everybody wants to go to.”
It’s worth noting that Oasis did speak out about the ticketing debacle in September, and said they were unaware that the ticket prices would increase so drastically.
“It needs to be made clear that Oasis leave decisions on ticketing and pricing entirely to their promoters and management, and at no time had any awareness that dynamic pricing was going to be used,” the update read.
“While prior meetings between promoters, Ticketmaster and the band’s management resulted in a positive ticket sale strategy, which would be a fair experience for fans, including dynamic ticketing to help keep general ticket prices down as well as reduce touting, the execution of the plan failed to meet expectations. All parties involved did their utmost to deliver the best possible fan experience, but due to the unprecedented demand this became impossible to achieve.”
Liam and Noel Gallagher of Oasis. CREDIT: Gie Knaeps/Getty Images
Elsewhere in the interview with The Sun, Fatboy Slim – real name Norman Cook – shared his support for Coldplay vowing to help support grassroots music spaces across the UK with their upcoming tour dates.
“I really fucking hate Coldplay. At least, I did until they announced their new arena tour and they announced they are giving 10 per cent of the whole ticket prices for the whole tour, which will help keep smaller venues going,” he said.
“That is the dynamic pricing you should be having. They are not making lots of money, they just want to survive. They just love to see rock ‘n’ roll… New bands have to have somewhere to come.”
Following the initial backlash around Oasis tickets, the band announced that they would be cancelling thousands of tickets to their upcoming UK 2025 reunion tour that have been sold via resale websites.
The divide in opinion around dynamic pricing went to parliament too, and it was reported that a new law may be introduced that requires music and sports events to tell fans maximum prices at the beginning of a ticket-buying process. The move followed on from Britain’s Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy condemning dynamic pricing and calling for a review of the policy.
Around the same time, the issue was brought to the Advertising Standards Agency and the European Commission, with a separate call for an investigation brought by the UK government. Experts also suggested that not warning Oasis fans of the dynamic pricing may breach consumer law.
Ticketmaster’s Oasis page. Credit: Matt Cardy/Getty Images
Following the backlash, the band later confirmed that a dynamic pricing structure would not be applied to their North American reunion tour dates.
As for the hopes of further UK appearances being announced, Oasis have ruled out a headline performance at Glastonbury 2025 and said they won’t be appearing at any other festivals next summer. Liam and Noel shot down rumours of a return to Knebworth in 2026 too.
As for the already-announced gigs, it has been confirmed Cage The Elephant will be serving as opening support on their North American leg while former Verve frontman and soloist Richart Ashcroft and Cast will be joining the Mancunian icons on their UK and Ireland dates.
As for Fatboy Slim, the artist will be playing more live shows across the remainder of 2024, including dates in the UK and the US. He has also been confirmed for festivals in the summer of 2025, including headline sets at Latitude and Kendal Calling.
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