Oasis has just announced their Australian dates for the epic 2025 reunion tour, and there will be no dynamic pricing for these shows.
This decision comes after backlash from fans hoping to attend their UK dates, who were furious when tickets went on sale under the dynamic pricing model.
Despite dropping dynamic pricing for its Australian shows, the model is still used everywhere—from gigs and sporting events to booking a flight or an Uber.
Is dynamic ticket pricing here to stay?
So, are we stuck with dynamic ticket pricing, or is fan backlash strong enough to make event promoters think twice?
On Wednesday’s episode of The Briefing, we chatted with Dr Georgia Carrol, an expert in fan culture who holds a PhD in fan and celebrity studies from the University of Sydney. Together, we explored the impact of dynamic ticket pricing in Australia and overseas.
“So the argument is, with say, Uber, they can put more cars on the road or the demand will die down. But with a concert or a sporting event, we already know how many seats there are, and that supply is not going to increase at any stage,” Dr Carrol said.
She explained that fans have an emotional connection with celebrities and are often willing to do “whatever it takes”.
“You often have that countdown timer happening, and you’re like, I’ve only got two minutes to decide: do I want to spend a thousand dollars, or do I want to miss out?” she added.
Dr Carrol also said the argument is that the money goes to the performer or the organisation instead of a third-party scalper, but it’s still at an inflated price, much like what a scalper would charge.
“I think they were betting on the fact that there wouldn’t be as much backlash as there was. And that’s always the hope because the thing with dynamic or in-demand pricing is that the organiser, the management, or someone involved with the artist has to opt in. It’s not opt-out.”
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