The sale of tickets for the next Oasis tour has put ticket touting back in the spotlight as reports suggest the British government is ramping up its work on new legislation that will finally outlaw for-profit ticket resale in the UK.
After tickets for their 2027 shows sold out on primary platform Ticketmaster this weekend, Oasis announced that “tickets currently on secondary websites are liable to be cancelled”. But that hasn’t stopped touting platform Viagogo from issuing official advice for those fans who missed out on tickets this weekend, insisting that “the initial on-sale isn’t your only opportunity to buy”.
The UK government announced a big plan to ban for-profit ticket touting last November, but has since been very vague about when that plan will be implemented. In this year’s King's Speech, which sets out the government’s legislative agenda for the next year, ministers only promised “draft legislation”, suggesting it would be a while yet before the ban is actually made law.
However, it’s thought the ticket touting ban - an obvious crowd-pleaser politically speaking - has become more of a priority since Andy Burnham became Prime Minister. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told Parliament earlier this month that “the Prime Minister feels particularly passionate about this issue and we will give the legislation the priority it deserves”.
And this weekend The Guardian reported that the government’s Department For Digital, Culture, Media And Sport has now assembled “a sizable ‘bill team’, a group of civil servants who are drafting the policy and will help shepherd it through Parliament”.
That team, The Guardian added, is “understood to be considering ways to mitigate the risk that touts and resale platforms simply base themselves offshore to bypass any new legislation”.
There has been speculation that there could be some kind of firmer commitment regarding a timeline on the touting ban during this week’s Labour Party Conference. Maybe from Burnham himself, given one of his favourite bands - Oasis - has put the touting problem back in the spotlight, while the drummer from another of his favourites - The Smiths - formally backed the touting ban last week.
Alongside new Manchester-centric touting stats published by the FanFair Alliance, Smiths drummer Mike Joyce said, “Seeing tickets for shows being resold for thousands of pounds is outrageous. Fans pay more, artists gain nothing and venues see none of the benefit. That’s not supporting live music, it’s taking money away from the scene that made Manchester what it is”.
Which is why, Joyce continued, he’s backing the campaign for “a fairer ticketing market”, ie an end to for-profit touting, adding “it’s time to stop this for good”.
The Manchester Evening News has been monitoring the listing of Oasis tickets at massive mark-ups on Viagogo, noting there’s a risk that those tickets will be cancelled by the promoter. Some tickets for the band’s Manchester concerts were selling for just under £3000 each on Friday.
In an article on the Contact Music website, also on Friday, a statement from Viagogo urged fans not to “panic” if they missed out on tickets this weekend, because “the initial on-sale isn’t your only opportunity to buy”. Which is technically true. Fans who buy tickets but then can’t attend can resell them at face value via either Ticketmaster or Twickets, and Oasis has said those tickets will go on sale “nearer the events”.
But of course, that’s not what Viagogo means. Its spokesperson said fans should “keep checking trusted resale platforms as the event approaches”, by which they mean Viagogo. The official Viagogo advice added that those super high prices currently being demanded by the touts - £3000 per ticket - will likely go down between now and the start of the Oasis tour next May.
Asked about the Oasis tickets currently on sale via its website, which - remember - could as yet be cancelled, another Viagogo spokesperson told the Manchester Evening News that “resale is legal in the UK” and “Viagogo is a safe, secure and regulated marketplace and is fully compliant in the UK”.
It’s true that ticket resale is legal in the UK, for now, though that doesn’t stop promoters of the Oasis shows from cancelling the touted tickets, as they have threatened to do. Plus, if Burnham is genuinely “passionate” about this issue, maybe by the time the Oasis tour kicks off next May for-profit ticket resale won’t be legal in the UK. We shall see.
Setting out the company’s arguments against any restrictions on ticket touting one more time, Viagogo’s statement to the Manchester Evening News concluded, “we oppose anti-competitive actions taken by event organisers to restrict purchasing and resale options to certain platforms, as they ultimately harm fans by limiting their choice, flexibility and access. We will continue to advocate for access, transparency and open marketplaces for event lovers”.