Longford Senator offered Oasis tickets for €415.50 each wants Ticketmaster and MCD to justify pricing
Ticketmaster and MCD urged to appear before Oireachtas Committee 'after disastrous sale of tickets for the Oasis concert'
A Longford Senator, who was offered Oasis concert tickets costing €415.50 each for general admission after two hours queuing online, wants Ticketmaster and MCD to justify its pricing before the Oireachtas Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media.
Fine Gael Senator Micheál Carrigy has written to the chair of the committee seeking a meeting with representatives from Ticketmaster, to discuss pricing after when he termed 'the disastrous sale of tickets for the Oasis concert due to take place next year'.
The Ballinalee based Senator, who has been chosen to contest the next general election in the Longford / Westmeath constituency, stated, “Over the last few days many music fans were left devastated when the only tickets left for Oasis were priced far beyond the originally advertised €86.50.
“Online ticket giant Ticketmaster kept raising prices— even as people waited in line for hours, so fans had no choice but to opt for the more expensive tickets.
“Like many, I logged on last Saturday morning hoping to secure tickets and after two hours, I reached the top of the queue to purchase tickets at a startling cost of €415.50 each for General Admission. (which he didn't buy!)
“Serious questions remain unanswered about how dynamic ticket pricing works and why artists are allowed to opt into this."
Senator Carrigy pointed out that in 2021, Fine Gael introduced legislation that banned the reselling of tickets for more than their face value.
He continued, "The aim of this was to stop ticket touting and protect consumers. I believe Ticketmaster is touting in a different format with the band and promoter now using this method to make higher profits at the expense of the Irish public where there is a high demand to attend a particular show.
“It is imperative that the Oireachtas Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media is briefed on the decisions Ticketmaster and MCD have made.
“We need to hear a clear explanation as to how Ticketmaster and MCD justify these prices.
“I’ve written to the Committee’s Chair to ask her to invite representatives from Ticketmaster to come before the committee.
“I urge Ticketmaster and MCD to speak with members of the committee, so decisions made over the weekend are clarified and the public has all the information on what went wrong.” Senator Carrigy concluded.