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Legendary British rock band Oasis has issued a warning to ticket resellers such as Viagogo and Stub Hub. They say fans who show up with second-hand tickets will not be allowed into their much-anticipated reunion gig<\/a> as a storm over sales rumbles on. But a Viagogo exec has dismissed what he views as an empty threat, insisting the fiery Gallagher brothers are more likely to split up (again)<\/a> than clamp down on touts and deny fans access to their concerts.<\/p>\n Fans have already blasted the chaotic general sale, having logged on in their millions last Saturday morning, hoping to secure tickets for a raft of gigs across London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Dublin.<\/p>\n Following a pre-sale via ballot the day before, the general sale was courtesy of See Tickets, Gigsandtours, and Ticketmaster.<\/p>\n Ticketmaster\u2014whose parent company Live Nation<\/a> is currently being sued by the U.S. Justice Department alleging monopolistic controls<\/a>\u2014came under the most fire.<\/p>\n Fans slammed an unstable website and accused the business of dynamic pricing, with costs going up as demand mounted.<\/p>\n While the band has attempted to distance themselves from the drama, customers of resale sites like Viagogo were told their tickets would be canceled via Oasis\u2019 official account on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n Oasis told PA Media: \u201cIt needs to be made clear that Oasis leaves decisions on ticketing and pricing entirely to their promoters and management.\u201d<\/p>\n But on X, the band wrote: \u201cTickets appearing on other secondary ticketing sites are either counterfeit or will be canceled by the promoters.\u201d<\/p>\n This was supported by a statement on the Oasis website announcing added dates at Wembley Stadium, which read: \u201cAny tickets listed on unauthorised resale sites may not be genuine and promoters will cancel any tickets found\u00a0listed.\u201d<\/p>\n The droves who didn\u2019t snag a ticket in the initial sale quickly turned to resale websites like Viagogo, where tickets are being listed anywhere from \u00a3600 ($789) to \u00a36,000 ($7,896) at the time of writing.<\/p>\n When asked by Fortune<\/em> about the likelihood of promoters sticking by their plan to void second-hand tickets, Viagogo\u2019s international business development lead Matt Drew said: \u201cI think there\u2019s more chance that Oasis split up.<\/p>\n Representatives for Oasis did not respond to Fortune\u2019s <\/em>request for comment.<\/p>\n Drew believes the \u201cscare tactics\u201d around ticket resales are toothless and has personal experience with similar demands not being upheld in the past.<\/p>\n \u201cI went to see Liam [Gallagher],\u201d Drew said\u2014referencing the tour the Oasis frontman embarked on over the summer. \u201cI bought four tickets at primary sale, I bought two tickets at secondary from our platform because there were six of us going.<\/p>\n \u201cThe very same messaging was being put out there. We all got in.\u201d<\/p>\n Customers who have already parted money for tickets bought via resellers may be skeptical of an \u2018it worked for me\u2019 argument, but Drew doubled down: \u201cResale in the UK is completely legal. That\u2019s just a statement of fact.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBeyond<\/a> that, it\u2019s a very heavily regulated industry, and governments aren\u2019t in the business of regulating industries that aren\u2019t legal.\u201d <\/p>\n Viagogo says it has a further safety net. <\/p>\n Drew added: \u201cIn the very, very, very rare instances that people do not get in for whatever reason\u2014not specific to messages like this\u2014we have a full guarantee that person will either get a replacement ticket or they\u2019ll get all of their money back.\u201d<\/p>\n While demand for tickets is currently at astronomic levels, Drew and the team at Viagogo are advising consumers to sit tight instead of rushing out to buy Oasis tickets on reseller platforms like their own.<\/p>\n Similar to the hype that saw some customers paying thousands for a spot at Taylor Swift\u2019s Eras Tour<\/a> or Beyonce\u2019s Renaissance Tour, Drew claims Viagogo customers had snagged tickets for as little as \u00a380 and \u00a324, respectively.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a number of dates here [for Oasis], tickets are available at any time, most likely up until the day of the gig,\u201d Drew said. \u201cThere are very rational and reasonable prices to be had.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we have seen consistently for major events is that there is this huge peak of demand at the start and there is almost always this general trend downwards over a period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n Resellers like Viagogo haven\u2019t been without criticism, with fans on X blasting resellers as \u201cgreedy\u201d and \u201cleaches.\u201d <\/p>\n Drew points out that Viagogo is merely the marketplace for ticket resales and has no part in setting prices, which are set by the sellers.<\/p>\n He added prices that are \u201ccompletely outlandish\u201d will never sell and that the marketplace will eventually settle at a \u201crational point.\u201d<\/p>\n His advice was to wait until tickets reach a budget point that is comfortable for buyers\u2014particularly around six weeks before the gig.<\/p>\n The British rockers have tried to distance themselves from Ticketmaster\u2019s alleged use of dynamic pricing.<\/p>\n A spokesman told PA Media the band \u201cat no time had any awareness that dynamic pricing was going to be used.\u201d<\/p>\n The allegation of dynamic pricing has already landed Ticketmaster in hot water.\u00a0The Guardian<\/em><\/a>\u00a0reports that<\/span> the European Commission has launched an urgent review into the matter.<\/p>\n This comes after the UK\u2019s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it was reviewing the process<\/a> and wanted fans to get \u201ca fair deal.\u201d<\/p>\n Viagogo\u2019s Drew says the alleged dynamic pricing, coupled with a crackdown on resellers in independent marketplaces, forms Ticketmaster\u2019s plan to control the market.<\/p>\n Ticketmaster did not immediately respond to Fortune\u2019s<\/em> request for comment. <\/p>\n Drew paints Viagogo as a solution to this problem by opening up the market. <\/p>\n It\u2019s up to consumers whether or not to believe it, but fans and Drew can agree on one thing: \u201cThe system doesn\u2019t work. It needs to be looked at from top to bottom, and it needs to be made a tonne more competitive.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nCan Oasis cancel tickets bought on resale sites?<\/h2>\n
\u201cResale in the UK is completely legal\u201d<\/h2>\n
How to get cheap Oasis tickets<\/h2>\n
Dynamic pricing disaster<\/h2>\n
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