Former Ticketmaster boss blames Oasis fans for ticket price hike

'Nobody has to pay that money'

On Saturday, tickets for the Gallagher brothers’ huge reunion tour went on sale, with millions hoping to bag a ticket to one of the 17 dates the band are playing next July and August.

However, after queueing for hours to try and get tickets on Ticketmaster, many were left aghast when they finally got to the front of the queue. They found tickets were only available at much higher prices than they had been when they first went on sale that day.

Many were only given the option of purchasing ‘in demand’ standing tickets, for more than £350, three times more than the tickets had initially gone on sale for just hours earlier.

This was a result of something known as ‘dynamic pricing,’ which allows Ticketmaster to raise the price of tickets according to market demand.

The company came under fire for the inflated prices, but has defended itself, saying it is down to the “event organiser” who “has priced these tickets according to their market value”.

Now, former executive vice president of Ticketmaster Europe Tommy Higgins has claimed it is the fans who are to blame, labelling anyone who pays the higher price "stupid."

Speaking to The Anton Savage Show on Irish radio station Newstalk yesterday, Higgins said no one was forced to pay €400 for a ticket.

He said: “Who’s forcing anybody to pay €400 for a ticket? The people who caused this maelstrom are Oasis fans."

He continued: “Nobody has to pay that money, if people don’t pay that, the ticket price will go back down.” Higgins also pointed out that through the 'in demand' pricing system, money that previously would have gone to ticket touts now goes to the “rightful stakeholders, the promoters and artist”.

Whilst he said he understood why people were upset by the prices, the former exec defended Ticketmaster, the Irish Mirror reports.

He said: “I’ve been out of the business for a while, but I would understand the right way to go about this is the stakeholders are paid what people pay for tickets. Nobody has to pay €400 for a ticket, I think they’re stupid to pay €400 for a ticket.”

Higgins did admit that the cost of tickets for concerts was "quite shocking" and that something needed to be done on the "runaway inflation on costs for concerts of these kind."

“Clearly, it is beyond the reach of many, many people to purchase or to be in a position to be able to afford a ticket to a concert given the rampant acceleration of price increases," he added.

The UK government has said it will be looking into the controversial practice as part of a wider consultation into ticket resale websites that had already been announced. This consultation will get underway in the autumn.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said it was “depressing to see vastly inflated prices excluding ordinary fans” from gigs.