Photo Credit: Simon Everett
Sorry, superfans: As it works to cancel bot-purchased tickets to Oasis’ upcoming tour, Ticketmaster is allegedly nixing some legitimate passes held by dedicated supporters.
That less-than-ideal situation just recently came to light in reports and social posts from across the pond. As many already know, more than a few fans are looking to attend Oasis’ mega-tour, which is set to kick off in July with a pair of Cardiff shows.
Among other things, strong demand has sent passes’ pricing into the stratosphere, prompted a CMA investigation into Ticketmaster, and even fueled a U.K. government plan to place “a cap on the price of ticket resales.”
(The Manchester-based group sold out several North American shows – opting to abandon dynamic pricing – with comparatively little controversy.)
It’s against this backdrop that Live Nation in October 2024 moved to invalidate approximately 50,000 tickets for allegedly being resold through platforms besides Ticketmaster and Twickets.
Though the maneuver certainly impacted profit-minded resellers, the diehard followers who’d coughed up thousands for passes were arguably hit hardest. Now, the focus has apparently shifted to tickets, resold or not, obtained thanks to automated software.
“Any tickets that have been identified to have been purchased by bots will be refunded,” Ticketmaster U.K. recently specified of the process, “as this violates the tour’s terms and conditions. Barcodes on these refunded tickets will be void and will not allow entry to the event.”
Said refunds started rolling out last Friday, with affected customers receiving related notifications via email, per the site. Not stopping there, Ticketmaster emphasized that the results of the ongoing bot investigation “will be passed to relevant law enforcement once complete where appropriate.”
As for how exactly team members identified bot involvement – which would, of course, have best been halted before checkout – the ticketing giant didn’t dive into particulars.
“Expert Abuse and Fraud teams have reviewed all sales and identified any made by bots,” the Live Nation subsidiary relayed here. “We cannot go into more detail, as we do not want bot-using touts to have any further information on the process.”
However, some ticked-off (former) ticketholders claim they’re caught in the bot-clampdown crossfire despite having followed all purchase rules.
“Not only am I losing my @oasis tickets,” one such individual wrote on X, “I’m also in danger of being reported to law enforcement??? wtf? I didn’t do anything other than buy my tickets for me & my friend during presale?? This is a nightmare.”
“@TicketmasterCS, I just got an email saying my Oasis tickets were canceled due to bots,” another would-be attendee vented, “but it was me who purchased them with my own account and credit card. This must be an error—can you help me resolve it?”
Ticketmaster also disclosed that any canceled tickets will be resold “at face value in due course.” But the episode’s not-great optics are prompting social media speculation that the cancellations might be designed to drive higher-priced sales.
Regarding where things go from here, Ticketmaster in a statement touched on what seems to be an appeal process for refunded customers.
“Anyone who has been contacted and believes a refund was made in error has been sent a form to fill in for the tour’s promoters to review,” a Ticketmaster rep indicated on this front.