Tickets to Harry Styles’s gigs have been subject to dynamic pricing
(Picture: Ian West/PA)A new Ticketmaster pricing system that alters the price of tickets based on demand is being criticised by fans and industry experts.
The dynamic-pricing system has been used in the United Kingdom for recent sales of tickets to Harry Styles, Coldplay, and Blackpink gigs.
It’s regularly employed in the United States, where resale is a lot bigger, and touting is much more prevalent, reports the BBC.
Ticketmaster has now said that it is being used in order to try to stop touts, and to give more money back to artists.
However, fans aren’t convinced, as they say that the touting could actually lead to prices of tickets doubling.
Here’s everything you need to know about the system, and how it works.
How does Ticketmaster’s new demand-based pricing system work?
On the Ticketmaster page for Harry Styles’s tour, a notice explains how its new demand-based system works.
It reads: “These tickets vary in price driven by demand from fans, similar to airline tickets and hotel rooms.
“We give fans an opportunity to safely buy official tickets for the events they love, right up to the date of the show.”
This new pricing system means that Ticketmaster does not publicise ticket costs ahead of time, instead, they charge constantly, based on the demand for tickets, reports the BBC.
Adam Webb, campaigner for the FanFair Alliance, a group aimed at stopping ticket touting in the UK, told the BBC that there’s a “whole bunch of issues” with pricing tickets on demand.
Speaking to the outlet, he said: “You’ve got the face-value price, which is determined by the artist and promoter, then you have the secondary market price, which is obviously going to be a lot more because it’s mostly ticket-tout businesses reselling those tickets, and you’re trying to inflate the primary ticket price to get closer to that.”
What are the criticisms of dynamic pricing for events?
Speaking to the BBC, Rebecca McGowan, a children’s clinical nurse specialist from Tamworth, said: “I went to Harry’s last tour back in June and went three times. I thought the tickets were really good value for money, to be fair.”
Originally, she paid £56 for a seated ticket in Manchester, £110 for a pit-standing ticket and £96 for a seat in Wembley Stadium.
However, when booking tickets for the next year, she noticed a huge difference in price. Two tickets cost £115 each for Wembley but, when she hit ‘purchase’, they were no longer available.
She said: “I scrolled down the screen and it said, ‘Pit tickets £386 each,’ for the same area.
“Lo and behold, I could get them - but I refused, because they were the same tickets. It really annoyed me... As much as I love going to concerts, I was like ‘no chance’ - this is an absolute joke.”
The ticket prices had increased while she was at the buying stage, as Ticketmaster matched demand from resale websites, reports the BBC.
Others took to social media to share their anger at the new system. One wrote: “Furious; tix for #Lizzo £125 (!) Friday now £75 but can’t add to basket; comparison to airline pricing disingenuous; an artist playing one night w/ tix thru one agency means exclusive #monopoly controlling product & market. #Ticketmaster#dynamicpricing.”
Furious; tix for #Lizzo £125 (!) Friday now £75 but can't add to basket; comparison to airline pricing disingenuous; an artist playing one night w/ tix thru one agency means exclusive #monopoly controlling product & market. #Ticketmaster #dynamicpricing https://t.co/XYxjUtrNk9
— GEEKchocolate (@GeekChocolate) October 10, 2022
Another added: “Anyone else wondering re: #DynamicPricing and #Ticketmaster? Tried getting @depechemode tickets and left... dazed and amazed? what’s happened? surcharges? Are you insane people?”
Anyone else wondering re: #DynamicPricing and #Ticketmaster? Tried getting @depechemode tickets and left... dazed and amazed? what's happened? surcharges? Are you insane people?
— Denise De Francesco (@DeniseDeFrance4) October 5, 2022
A third said: “Went to buy @depechemode tickets and once tickets were in my cart @Ticketmaster had doubled the price with #dynamicpricing. It is not all #Ticketmaster‘s fault - artists allow this. I will not be attending #DepecheMode unless I get a good deal on the secondary market #justsayno”
Went to buy @depechemode tickets and once tickets were in my cart @Ticketmaster had doubled the price with #dynamicpricing. It is not all #Ticketmaster's fault - artists allow this. I will not be attending #DepecheMode unless I get a good deal on the secondary market #justsayno
— The Catarina (@thecatarina) October 7, 2022
Many critics of dynamic pricing say artists can already stop touting, by applying their own ticketing rules.
