Ticketmaster has agreed to major reforms following a CMA investigation into Oasis ticket sales. Learn what it means for buyers.

Ticketmaster has been forced to look at its ticket sales practices in the UK following a row over pricing during last year’s Oasis reunion tour. The changes come after a formal investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which received a flood of complaints from fans who felt misled by how tickets were advertised and sold.

When Oasis tickets first went on sale, many fans said they saw standard seats advertised for around £148.50, only for the price to soar to more than £350 once they reached the checkout. Confusion also surrounded the use of terms like “platinum,” with premium-priced seats often offering no obvious benefit compared to cheaper alternatives nearby. Though some suspected that Ticketmaster was using dynamic, demand-based pricing, the CMA ultimately found no evidence of this. Instead, it concluded that a combination of tiered pricing and unclear information had left customers feeling deceived.

Under new commitments agreed with the regulator, Ticketmaster must now give customers clearer information at every stage of the buying process. That means letting people know in advance when tiered pricing will apply, providing full price ranges as soon as someone enters the online queue, and updating buyers when cheaper ticket tiers sell out. The company has also been told to drop labels like “platinum” if they suggest benefits that don’t actually exist. To ensure compliance, Ticketmaster will report regularly to the CMA for the next two years.

For fans, the move is meant to reduce nasty surprises and make the true cost of tickets more transparent from the outset. For the industry, it marks a significant moment showing that the UK regulator has new powers that could see platforms fined up to 10% of their turnover if they mislead consumers. While Ticketmaster has not admitted wrongdoing, it has agreed to implement the changes, which are expected to set a precedent for how other ticketing companies handle major sales in future.

Some questions remain unresolved. Fans who paid inflated prices for Oasis tickets are unlikely to be refunded, and consumer groups such as Which? have voiced disappointment that the measures do not go further. But the CMA’s intervention signals a shift in how ticketing transparency is policed in the UK.

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