Liam and Noel Gallagher are fighting scalpers with a vigor they usually reserve for fighting each other.
In August, the brothers behind legendary Britpop band Oasis announced the band’s plans to return to the stage for the first time in 15 years. The hotly anticipated series of shows in the United Kingdom and Ireland surely looked irresistible to scalpers, who could fetch a pretty penny by banking on pent-up demand for the ‘90s superstars.
Oasis torpedoed that particular business plan with a single tweet. They shared on X that reunion show tickets will only be available from primary vendors and resellers will be limited to selling their tickets for face value.
“Please note, Oasis Live ‘25 tickets can only be resold at face value via [Ticketmaster] and [Twickets],” the band’s official account shared. “Tickets appearing on other secondary ticketing sites are either counterfeit or will be cancelled by the promoters.”
The 17 scheduled shows for 2025 boasted more than 1 million available tickets – with prices ranging from around $100 to $666 for a ticket that came with perks and merchandise. They went on sale Saturday (August 31) and quickly sold out. The rush for tickets caused heartache that’s not unfamiliar to anyone who has been following the business of live music and big-name acts.
“I’ve given up, my friends have given up,” Scotland-based would-be ticket buyer Josh Jeffery told the Associated Press. “We just decided it’s too much hassle.”
Frustrated ticket buyers, particularly those who missed out on the chance to buy face value tickets for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, mounted a pressure campaign to investigate the monopoly Ticketmaster and Live Nation have on US music venues.
The Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against the venue company and ticketing platform, with Attorney General Merrick Garland saying in a press conference that the company maintains “exclusive agreements that cover more than 70% of concert ticket sales at major concert venues across the country.”