FILE PHOTO: Members of British rock band Oasis rhythm guitarist Gem Archer, lead guitarist Noel Gallagher, bass guitarist Andy Bell and lead vocals Liam Gallagher pose during a news conference in Hong Kong February 25, 2006.
Credit: Reuters Photo
The British rock band Oasis sold out its North American tour dates on Friday, although the reunion continued to stir controversy over ticket sales practices.
Live Nation Entertainment Inc., the tour promoter, said the band sold nearly 500,000 tickets for stops in cities that included Chicago, Los Angeles and Toronto. The dates are for August and September of 2025.
The band warned fans on Thursday that ticket resellers StubHub and Vivid Seats were selling fake tickets ahead of the on-sale date for the general public. Oasis named Ticketmaster and Twickets as the only official resellers in the US and Canada, according to a post from the band.
The National Independent Venue Association, an industry trade group, sent a letter to Congress Wednesday stating that at least 9,000 fake tickets had been sold on resale platforms and called for a probe into ticketing practices. Live Nation echoed the group and band’s positions in a retweet Thursday.
Laura Dooley, global head of government relations at StubHub, said in a statement to Bloomberg on Friday that the tickets the company is selling are legitimate.
“Tickets may appear on resale marketplaces before public on-sale because many industry stakeholders, such as season ticket holders, sponsors, and professional resellers, receive early access – this was the case with Oasis,” Dooley said.
Vivid Seats responded similarly that its Oasis tickets were purchased and owned by sellers and also included tickets from the company’s Seat Saver program, which allows fans to have a seller purchase a ticket on their behalf.
“It is very common for professional sellers to have access to tickets before a public sale starts, for a variety of reasons, including sponsorship deals and season ticket relationships,” Vivid Seats said in its statement.
The Oasis tour drew global interest after the band announced that they would be reuniting 15 years after splitting up. The group, which broke up following disagreements between two founding members, brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher, is known for 1990s hits such as Wonderwall and Don’t Look Back in Anger.
After tickets went on sale for the tour’s UK dates, the sales drew controversy for their use of “dynamic pricing” that saw dramatic shifts in value amid the surge in demand. The band said it would ditch that pricing mechanism for its US dates, with Ticketmaster advertising values of $81 to $381 when the seats went on sale. Premium seats and ticket packages cost more.
Live Nation has been under fire for its own ticket sale practices. The Department of Justice is suing the ticket provider over allegedly monopolizing live concert markets.