Twickets made a U-turn this afternoon (Monday, September 2) following criticism over the size of the fees they were charging those who resold Oasis tickets for concerts next summer.
It comes after a turbulent weekend for fans trying to secure tickets. for the long-awaited reunion concerts next summer. Tickets In the end, everything was sold out, but this happened after a day when there were a lot of fans – including Louis Tomlinson – left disappointed after a number of problems arose.
Fans reported that Ticketmaster crashed shortly before tickets were due to be published after receiving “503” errors and many also had to make do giant queues, As a result, many fans were left waiting in line at Ticketmaster for hours on end, not to mention at the ticket sales point itself, where for many the wait stretched out for several more hours.
After this, many fans started complain that they were kicked out of the queue, mistaken for botswhile those trying to buy available tickets reported being unable to reach phone lines, despite some fans calling the number listed more than 400 times.
Some who eventually managed to break through the line then were disappointed to see the price of the remaining tickets go up due to Ticketmaster's dynamic pricing policy – something that led to Culture Minister Lisa Nandy called for a review this morning into “dynamic pricing” and secondary ticket sites after the rush for Oasis tickets over the weekend.
Twickets has also come under fire. Last week, they were announced as an official resale partner Oasis concerts were a place where fans could buy unwanted tickets for no more than face value plus booking fees.
However, some fans found tickets on the site, only to see fees well in excess of £100 or more, leading to further desperation. The platform explained yesterday that “our commission is for buyers only and is 10-15 per cent of the face value of tickets.”
Now, according to Sky NewsTwickets have reviewed their pricing and announced price cuts due to “exceptional demand” from Oasis fans.
Richard Davis, founder of Twickets, said Sky's Money Blog: “Due to exceptional demand for the Oasis 2025 tour, Twickets has taken the decision to reduce our booking fee to 10 percent and a transaction fee of one percent (to cover bank charges) for all ticket buyers on our platform. In addition, we have introduced a commission cap of £25 per ticket for these shows. Ticket sellers are already selling tickets without any Twickets fees.
“This ensures that Twickets remains extremely competitive in the secondary market, including sites like Viagogo, Gigsberg and StubHub.
“Not only do these platforms inflate ticket prices well above their original face value, but they also charge exorbitant booking fees, typically in the region of 30-40 percent. In comparison, Twickets charges an average fee of around 12.5 percent.”
The restriction is reported to be introduced today and will apply to everyone who has already purchased tickets for resale through the site.
Davis added that Twickets is a ticket resale site created “first and foremost for fans” and a “safe and accessible place” for people to exchange unwanted tickets.
He continued: “The face value of a ticket is the total amount it was originally purchased for, including any booking fees. Twickets does not set the face value, it is determined by the event and the original ticketing company. The price listed on our platform is set by the seller, however, no one is allowed to sell above face value on Twickets and every ticket is reviewed before being listed to ensure it complies with this policy.”
Fans have previously complained on social media about fees, which in several cases exceeded £100.
If we refused to accept them at the price paid to the original seller, the only loser would be the person who bought them in the first place. It would have no effect on TM, since they had already sold them.
— Twickets UK Ticket Feed (@TwicketsUK) September 1, 2024
All Platinum ticket sellers are required to confirm the original price paid to TM before they will be accepted on our site. No seller will be paid until the shows take place, so all purchases are fully protected.
— Twickets UK Ticket Feed (@TwicketsUK) September 1, 2024
If we refused to accept them at the price paid to the original seller, the only loser would be the person who bought them in the first place. It would have no effect on TM, since they had already sold them.
— Twickets UK Ticket Feed (@TwicketsUK) September 1, 2024
If we refused to accept them at the price paid to the original seller, the only loser would be the person who bought them in the first place. It would have no effect on TM, since they had already sold them.
— Twickets UK Ticket Feed (@TwicketsUK) September 1, 2024
Our commission is for buyers only and is 10-15% of the face value of the tickets. SH charges buyers and sellers up to 30%.
— Twickets UK Ticket Feed (@TwicketsUK) September 1, 2024
Ticketmaster has laid out its strict rules for buying tickets last week – confirmed that customers would only be able to order four tickets per household and card.
However, after the Oasis concert tickets went on pre-sale, many tickets began appearing on secondary ticket sites for up to £10,000, prompting The band will warn fans that “people trying to sell tickets on the secondary market” will “be cancelled by promoters”.
Earlier today, the culture minister said it was “disappointing to see prices being so inflated” and said the sharp price increases would be included in a government review of the concert resale market.
Nandy said (via Sky News): “After the incredible news of Oasis' return, it's depressing to see how wildly inflated prices are depriving ordinary fans of the opportunity to enjoy their favourite band live.
“This Government is committed to putting fans back at the heart of music. So we will include issues around transparency and the use of dynamic pricing, including the technology around the queuing systems that drive it, in our forthcoming consultation on consumer protection in ticket resale.
“By working with artists, the industry and fans, we can create a fairer system that ends scalping, fraudulent resales and ensures tickets are fairly priced.”
As for the steep price hikes, this is not the first time Ticketmaster has come under fire for its strategy. In particular, MedicineTicketmaster's Robert Smith previously criticized the company, saying he was “sickened” when he saw Ticketmaster's fees for the band's tours exceed the face value of the tickets.
He continued: “To be very clear: an artist has no power to limit them. I asked how they are justified. If I get anything meaningful as an answer, I will let you all know.”
After More than 7,000 tickets cancelled on resale sitesSmith was later able to convince the ticket giant to give out small compensation verified ticket buyers to recoup “unreasonably high” fees. He later had to ask Ticketmaster to explain why tickets at his promised face value for ticket exchanges were “strange” and “overpriced”.
Paramore's Hayley Williams also previously called on the company to “get it together”stating: “We don't take this lightly, we know, frankly, especially now, that it's a huge sacrifice to come to the show because Ticketmaster needs to get its affairs in order.
“We put a lot of pressure on ourselves too because we were like, 'People are spending money they don't need to come and hang out with us, and we better give them something worthwhile.' We just love you so much.”