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11 December 2024 10:23 AM

Robbie Williams says Oasis ‘definitely didn’t know’ about controversial dynamic pricing for reunion tour

“I only know about dynamic pricing because of Oasis”

By Will Richards

Robbie Williams performs on the opening night of his XXV tour across UK and Ireland, which marks his 25 years as a solo artist, at The O2 Arena in London
Robbie Williams performs on the opening night of his XXV tour, which marks his 25 years as a solo artist, at The O2 Arena in London on October 9, 2022 (Picture: Ian West/PA Images/Alamy)

Robbie Williams has defended Oasis over criticism of the dynamic pricing used for their reunion tour, saying they ‘definitely didn’t know’ about the model.

Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing model faced intense criticism this summer after fans were charged inflated prices for the Gallaghers’ 2025 tour.

Which? then called for fans to receive a refund after some found that the price of tickets for the group’s anticipated reunion had significantly increased when they went to buy them, as a result of Ticketmaster using dynamic pricing.

“I think that the whole music industry just learned something,” Robbie told The Face, discussing the dynamic pricing conversation.

“By the way, I’ve never sat in a ​‘How much are we pricing the tickets?’ meeting. And I don’t believe that Oasis did either,” he added. “I don’t believe that Oasis knew. Liam definitely didn’t know ​’this is how much tickets are going to cost. We’re going to do this thing called dynamic pricing.’ I only know about dynamic pricing because of Oasis.”

Oasis
Oasis (Picture: Simon Emmett)

He added: “That whole dynamic pricing thing, it even made me go: ​’Fuck, I need to be in some sort of meeting.’ Or just go: ​’Let’s not have that happen!’”

Discussing how a “scalper guy… bought a £1.5 million mansion off scalping my tickets” for a 2006 tour, Robbie said: “I don’t know what you do, how you make it right, how you stop being greedy, how you figure out what you’re worth whilst not extorting people.”

Dynamic pricing was introduced by Ticketmaster in 2022, with the ticketing giant claiming that it was introduced to stop touts and ensure a greater percentage of money goes to the artists. It works on the model that prices will go up where demand is high, but many have accused Ticketmaster of ripping fans off.

When it came to the Oasis sale, some fans paid £355 for a ticket which was originally advertised at £135 when it came to finalising their purchase.

The government has called for a review into the system, while Which? has said Ticketmaster should “do the right thing and refund the difference to fans who may have been misled into paying huge sums for tickets that were half the price just hours earlier”.

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