Dynamic pricing means prices move up and down with demand, the way airline seats, hotel rooms and ride-hailing apps have worked for years. Applied to concert tickets, it means the same seat can cost very different amounts depending on when, and how desperately, it is bought.
The idea reached British dinner tables on 31 August 2024, when tickets for the Oasis reunion shows went on sale. Fans who spent hours in online queues hoping for standing tickets listed at 148 pounds often found them replaced by in-demand versions costing more than double. The outcry was loud enough for the Competition and Markets Authority to open an investigation into Ticketmaster within a week, examining whether buyers had been told clearly and in time that prices could change. The regulator also pointed out that dynamic pricing is not unlawful in itself; the argument is about transparency. Few phrases have done more to ruin a celebratory Saturday morning.