Thousands of tickets to this year’s Oasis reunion shows are being cancelled by Ticketmaster in a crackdown on bots, but many fans are claiming they have been targeted wrongfully.
When UK tickets for the return of Liam and Noel Gallagher went on sale last August, it was reported that four per cent of them – or roughly 50,000 – ended up on resale sites. This was despite efforts having been put in place to prevent touts from re-selling tickets at inflated prices.
In a statement at the time from the band’s promoters Live Nation and SJM, it was said that all tickets sold via secondary ticketing sites other than Twickets would be cancelled, with all invalidated tickets to be made available again through Ticketmaster at face value.
“Ticket resale is permitted at no more than the price you paid (face value + booking fees),” read the statement. “Please only use the official resale partners Twickets and Ticketmaster. Selling tickets through unauthorised resale platforms will breach these T&Cs and those tickets may be cancelled”.
Now, Ticketmaster have been contacting some ticket holders to inform them that their tickets have been refunded as “it has been identified that bots were used to make this purchase”, meaning they “violate the tour’s terms and conditions”.
“These terms were specifically established to limit resale of tickets on unauthorised ticketing platforms for profit,” the message continues. “Fans have been strongly advised by all parties not to purchase tickets from unauthorised resale sites, to protect them from fraud or refunding.”
The news has been met with anger by many Oasis fans, however, who claim that they are being targeted despite buying their tickets legitimately.
If 2025 could actually get any worse – now I don’t even have this to look forward to any more
Denying legit fans their tickets??@oasis @liamgallagher @NoelGallagher @BBCBreaking @NME @Ticketmaster @ticketmasteuk @TMFanSupport pic.twitter.com/UROctkNZ4S
— Jen
(@lostinmusic72) February 7, 2025
“If 2025 could actually get any worse – now I don’t even have this to look forward to any more,” wrote one fan on X on Friday (February 7). “Denying legit fans their tickets??”
Several others have made similar complaints, with another writing on X: “So what’s this complete shitshow? Sat on my laptop for hours on general sale day to secure just TWO tickets for ONE gig and you’re telling me I’m a bot and a tout!” The post is accompanied by shots of his screens on the day of the sale.
So what’s this complete shitshow @gigsandtours @SJMConcerts @oasis @NoelGallagher @liamgallagher? Sat on my laptop for hours on general sale day to secure just TWO tickets for ONE gig and you’re telling me I’m a bot and a tout! Here’s my screens on one device on the day…. pic.twitter.com/ximhzFHR21
— Matthew Ewers (@MatthewEwers) February 7, 2025
See other posts from outraged Oasis fans below.
@TicketmasterUK why have you voided my Oasis tickets for this Summer? Please contact me to resolve this issue. This is a disgrace.
— Paddy Hogan (@paddyhogan09) February 7, 2025
@TicketmasterCS, I just got an email saying my Oasis tickets were canceled due to bots, 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?
— מאיה פז
Maya Paz (@pazfeed) February 7, 2025
@TicketmasterCS I just received an email saying my Oasis tickets were canceled due to bot activity. We bought these through a presale legitimately. Can someone please help?
— Michael Rodriguez (@MRod32_) February 7, 2025
@TicketmasterCS
I received an email stating that my OASIS tickets were refunded because bots could have been used to make the purchase, which is incorrect.— Caamzi ⁷ (@caamgtan) February 7, 2025
NME contacted Ticketmaster for a response to the confusion, and they advised anybody with queries to consult their ‘Oasis Refunds FAQ’ page here.
Among the advice, the page says: “For ticket purchasers who believe they have had tickets refunded in error, refer to the email sent by the relevant agent when informed.”
Answering a question about how they can tell tickets were purchased by touts, they added: “Expert Abuse and Fraud teams have reviewed all sales and identified any made by bots. We cannot go into more detail, as we do not want bot-using touts to have any further information on the process.”
Shortly after the tickets went on sale last summer, some were popping up on secondary ticket sites for as much as £10,000, causing the band to write on social media: “We have noticed people attempting to sell tickets on the secondary market since the start of the pre-sale. Please note, tickets can ONLY be resold, at face value, via Ticketmaster and Twickets.
“Tickets sold in breach of the terms and conditions will be cancelled by the promoters.” Twickets shared Oasis’s statement and added their own: “Don’t buy tickets over face value. Official resale will be available on our website/app at face value only.”
The issue of touts selling tickets at massively inflated prices has been ongoing for some time, with the UK government recently announcing that there will soon be a price cap on how much touts can re-sell tickets for.
In January, they launched a public consultation outlining a “range of measures in the ticket re-sale market that aim to better protect fans, improve access to live events and support the growth of the UK’s world-leading live events sector”.
Labour’s Minister of State for Data Protection and Telecoms, Sir Chris Bryant, told NME: “The number one issue is how many tickets you should be able to buy because it’s clear that bots using artificial names manage to hoover up hundreds of them. How do we deal with that?”
“Number two is the cap and how much that should be. Should it be face value only? That’s what the Principality Stadium does for Welsh Rugby Union matches. Or should it be plus fees or plus 10-30 per cent? That’s the kind of range we’re consulting on.”
In addition to the issue of secondary sites, the Oasis ticket sale also proved controversial due to the use of “dynamic pricing”, where the cost of tickets would increase – often by hundreds of pounds – without warning due to high demand.
This infuriated thousands of fans, with experts claiming that the practice could be in breach of consumer law. It is currently being investigated by both the European Commission and Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the UK.
Oasis previously said that they “at no time had any awareness that dynamic pricing was going to be used” in the sale, claiming that “prior meetings between promoters, Ticketmaster and the band’s management resulted in a positive ticket sale strategy, which would be a fair experience for fans, including dynamic ticketing to help keep general ticket prices down as well as reduce touting, the execution of the plan failed to meet expectations.”
The tour kicks off in Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on July 4, before heading to Manchester’s Heaton Park, London’s Wembley Stadium, Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium and Dublin’s Croke Park. They will also play dates in Canada, the US, Mexico, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Argentina, Chile and Brazil.
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