Ticketmaster dynamic pricing accused of Oasis fans' extortion

Ticketmaster suffered a backlash from fans and politicians as Oasis concert tickets were sold over four times their value due to Ticketmaster's dynamic pricing. Tickets for the concerts were i nitially priced at around GBP 135 to GBP 150 , but some tickets were sold using Ticketmaster's pricing system for as high as GBP 500. Many fans voiced their disappointment, anger and disgust at the inflated prices, describing the practice as "scandalous." Fans had reported spending hours in virtual queues only to find prices had dramatically increased or to be kicked out of the system. Ticketmaster responded by claiming it does not set ticket prices and that this is done by event organisers based on market demand - ostensibly as a way to manage high demand and deter scalpers . Ticketmaster enables event organisers to alter prices dynamically with data, an algorithm and API. UK culture secretary Lisa Nandy described the inflated prices as "depressing" and t he UK announced a review of the secondary ticket sales market, including the transparency and use of dynamic pricing. Lawyers said the pricing may have breached the UK's Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (2008). The European Commission also said it was investigating dynamic pricing as part of an ongoing “fitness check” of EU consumer laws. Dynamic pricing Dynamic pricing, also referred to as surge pricing, demand pricing, or time-based pricing, and variable pricing is a revenue management pricing strategy in which businesses set flexible prices for products or services based on current market demands. Source: Wikipedia 🔗 System 🤖 Ticketmaster Platinum 🔗 Documents 📃 Ticketmaster. What is Ticketmaster Platinum? Operator: Oasis fans Developer: Live Nation/Ticketmaster Country: UK Sector: Media/entertainment/sports/arts Purpose: Calculate price Technology: Machine learning; Pricing algorithm Issue: Ethics/values; Fairness Regulation 👩🏼‍⚖️ Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008

Date it happened

2024-08-01

Product, system or model

Ticketmaster Platinum

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