Have you got your tickets yet?

Well, have you? Unless you’ve been living on the moon over the last few months you cannot have missed the much hyped reunion of 90s band Oasis. It’s been everywhere, social media, magazines, radio and even the television news.

To be honest, they are not my thing. I was into my thirties when they hit the big time and had my life filled with young children and a career to manage. I know some people still love to be involved in the music scene at that age but for me it had all passed. Going to concerts was never high on my priority list, though I have seen a few, and the thought of queueing for hours online to pay hundreds of pounds to stand in a field with thousands of others does not enthral me.

I’ve been quite surprised by the number of people I know who have bought tickets however (along with the price they have allegedly paid) coming from a wide age and musical taste range. Still, you never know folk.

I have been really impressed by the way that the reunion and subsequent ticket sales have gone. The hype around it has been amazing and I take my hat off to whoever is behind the promotion. The whole will-they-or-won’t-they was clever enough along with teaser ads in the media yet it was the masterful takeover of the airwaves that did it for me. 

Getting the story as the lead item on the BBC’s evening news was beyond my comprehension, along with the almost wall to wall coverage on its ‘popular’ radio channels over the next few days. Getting the national, supposedly independent, broadcaster to promote a blatantly commercial product was simply genius. I don’t understand why the BBC put so much weight behind and gave so much credence to the story. If I was a suspicious person I would be suspicious.

I continue to be amused by the complaints over dynamic ticket pricing, with even the government threatening to step in. Live concerts are pure capitalism and as demand goes up then so do the prices. Nobody should be surprised that demand has so far exceeded supply (see comments about hype) and should wait until the next set of concert dates is inevitably announced. If you don’t want to pay the price, then don’t.

Congratulations to everyone who got what they wanted and the long wait until next July begins. Let’s hope the brothers manage to stay friends until then.