Competition and Markets Authority to look at how ‘dynamic pricing’ may have been used to increase prices
The competition watchdog has launched an investigation into the Oasis ticket sales fiasco.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will investigate Ticketmaster’s handling of sales for the band’s forthcoming tour, including how “dynamic pricing” may have been used to adjust the price.
Continue reading...Review follows UK competition watchdog’s announcement of ‘urgent review’ into Oasis concert tickets fiasco
Ticketmaster’s ability to raise the price of concert tickets based on demand is being scrutinised by the European Commission, the Guardian has learned, as the UK’s competition watchdog launches an “urgent review” into the Oasis concerts fiasco.
The US-owned ticketing giant has been told it may have breached laws in the UK and Europe for inflating the price of some Oasis tickets from £135 to £350, leaving many fans devastated.
Continue reading...New York-born artist, 53, known for collaborating with Missy Elliott, was performing in Connecticut on Friday
The US rapper Fatman Scoop has died after he collapsed mid-performance during a free concert in Connecticut on Friday night, according to reports.
The New York-born artist, whose real name is Isaac Freeman III, was headlining the so-called Green & Gold Party in Hamden, Connecticut, when he had what was described as a medical emergency. He was seen in a video posted on X to have collapsed behind the DJ booth after urging concertgoers to “make some noise”.
Continue reading...High demand crashes ticket-selling websites amid scramble to secure place on 14-date tour
Did Oasis sell out yesterday? Definitely in Dublin. Maybe in Manchester. It was hard to tell.
Fans struggled to buy the million or so tickets that went on sale at 9am yesterday morning for the Manchester band’s 17-date comeback tour. Tickets had been expected to be snapped up in minutes, but instead many waited in online queues for hours, frustration mounting, only to be kicked off booking websites.
Continue reading...Official tickets are priced at between £73 and £151, but some resellers are charging in the thousands for them
Oasis have issued a warning to people against reselling tickets for their reunion tour – or buying those resold tickets – on the secondary market at vastly inflated prices.
The band said tickets “sold in breach of the terms and conditions will be cancelled by the promoters”.
Continue reading...City fought off competition from Berne, Geneva and Zurich to host event, which began in Switzerland in 1956
The Swiss city of Basel will host Eurovision in 2025, as the song contest’s 69th edition returns to the country where it was born in 1956.
The Alpine republic won the right to host next year’s event after the Swiss artist Nemo won the 2024 contest with the song The Code.
Continue reading...Glaciologist says ‘he’s totally fine’ after video of rapper tasting water goes viral and viewers warn of contamination
Chris “Ludacris” Bridges sparked concern from some social media followers when he knelt on an Alaska glacier, dipped an empty water bottle into a blue, pristine pool of water and drank it.
Video of the rapper-turned-actor tasting the glacial water and proclaiming: “Oh my God!” got millions of views on TikTok and Instagram. Some viewers expressed concern that he was endangering his life by drinking the untreated water, warning it might be contaminated with the parasite giardia.
Continue reading...Fan group holds Zoom call featuring Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand and ‘original cat lady’ Carole King
Taylor Swift has yet to publicly endorse a candidate, but some of her fanbase are already mobilizing for Kamala Harris. The Swifties for Kamala Coalition officially launched on Tuesday, raising more than $138,000 for the Democratic candidate in a virtual rally featuring Carole King and the senators Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand.
Swift, who has no affiliation with the group, was not present on the Zoom call nor involved in the event. The group has amassed about 250 million followers on social media platforms since Joe Biden dropped out of the race in late July and endorsed the vice-president.
Continue reading...Judge also bars ex-pharmaceutical executive, ‘Pharma Bro’, from streaming any more of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin
So-called “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli has been ordered by a federal judge to turn over all copies of the ultra-rare unreleased 2015 Wu-Tang Clan album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin and is barred from streaming any additional content from the record.
The Wu-Tang Clan spent six years creating Once Upon a Time in Shaolin before putting a single copy of the 31-track double album up for auction in 2015 on the condition that it not be released publicly. The multi-platinum hip-hop group wanted it viewed as a piece of contemporary art.
Continue reading...Grammy winner asks for privacy as she mourns Patricia and Alison, saying: ‘My heart is broken’
Mariah Carey’s mother, Patricia, and sister, Alison, both died on the same day, the singer said Monday.
“My heart is broken that I’ve lost my mother this past weekend,” the Grammy-winning singer said. “Sadly, in a tragic turn of events, my sister lost her life on the same day.
Continue reading...US rapper says he will not perform in United Arab Emirates until it ‘stops arming’ the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan, where thousands have been killed
Macklemore has cancelled an upcoming October concert in Dubai over the United Arab Emirates’ role “in the ongoing genocide and humanitarian crisis” in Sudan through its reported support of the paramilitary force that has been fighting government troops there.
The announcement by the US rapper reignited attention to the UAE’s role in the war gripping the African nation. While the UAE repeatedly has denied arming the Rapid Support Forces and supporting its leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, UN experts reported “credible” evidence in January that the Emirates sent weapons to the RSF several times a week from northern Chad.
Continue reading...First Black woman to become Master of the King’s Music says cuts to education means ‘we’ve lost so much talent’
All children should be taught musical instruments for free at school to widen access to classical music, according to the first Black woman to be appointed Master of the King’s Music.
The Belize-born composer, pianist and singer-songwriter Errollyn Wallen says she plans to use her new role to influence “the things I feel are important in music-making today,” in particular better music education for children.
Continue reading...Multiple news sites reported the star would be a special guest at the closing night of the Democratic National Convention – but it was not to be
As Kamala Harris prepared to deliver the biggest speech of her career, one of the year’s biggest rumours snowballed online and in the media about a potential surprise guest.
In an election campaign in which anything has seemed possible, a Democratic National Convention appearance by Beyoncé, whose song Freedom is the Harris campaign’s official song, seemed for a brief moment like it could be on the cards.
Continue reading...Singer shares ‘rollercoaster of emotions’ at end of European leg of Eras tour, saying she is grateful ‘we were grieving concerts and not lives’
Taylor Swift has spoken for the first time about the three Vienna shows on her blockbuster Eras tour that were cancelled earlier this month after a foiled terror attack, saying she felt “a new sense of fear” and a “tremendous amount of guilt”.
The planned terror attack was uncovered by Austrian authorities who eventually arrested three teenaged suspects – aged 17, 18 and 19 – for allegedly planning an Islamist attack in the Vienna region, with Swift’s shows being the “focus” of the plot.
Continue reading...Scottish photographer Dougie Wallace documented the Swifties from the UK and beyond decked in their finery to see their hero perform
As Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour sweeps across the globe, it’s on track to gross more than $1bn (£770m) by the end of 2024, having already become the first tour to pass that figure last year.
Economists have even started talking about the “Swift effect” or Swiftonomics. Rumour has it that the tour’s impact may have played a role in the Bank of England’s deliberations before cutting its interest rate at the start of this month. With almost 1.2 million fans attending concerts in the UK, each spending an estimated average of £848 on the overall experience of attending the concerts, the surge in spending sparked a short-term bump in inflation.
‘Infectious energy that could only come from dedicated Swifties who had travelled from all corners of the UK and beyond. Being from Scotland and not into football meant I was visiting Wembley for the first time.’
Continue reading...Announcement comes after musicians passed vote of no confidence in senior management over cancellation of Jayson Gillham’s performance
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s policies will undergo an independent review after the decision to cancel a performance by acclaimed pianist Jayson Gillham shortly after he made comments on the killing of journalists in Gaza.
It comes after the orchestra’s musicians passed a vote of no confidence in their senior management on Friday over the cancellation of Gillham’s performance, according to a letter sent by staff to the board seen by Guardian Australia.
Continue reading...Fans in sequins and cowboy hats arrive undeterred at first of five Taylor Swift concerts in London
Thousands of fans have arrived at Wembley stadium in London to see Taylor Swift perform for the first time since her shows in Vienna were cancelled after a foiled terror attack.
Despite heightened security concerns, fans have arrived unfazed, wearing sequins, cowboy hats and friendship bracelets. Angelina Morris, 20, said her mum had spent more than 50 hours hand-sewing her outfit and had not thought twice about attending the concert after the attack plot.
Continue reading...Suga has apologised after he was found lying on the ground in the Yongsan district of Seoul following an apparent accident
Suga, a member of the K-pop supergroup BTS, faces a potential prison sentence or a hefty fine after a breathalyser test revealed he was over the blood-alcohol limit when he reportedly fell off his e-scooter in Seoul last week.
Suga, who along with other members of the band has taken a break from music to perform compulsory national service, was found lying on the ground in the Yongsan district of Seoul on 6 August after an apparent accident, South Korean media reported.
Continue reading...Video shoot for single Lifetimes allegedly did not get permit to film at protected S’Espalmador zone in Balearic Islands
Katy Perry is under investigation for possible environmental damage of the protected dunes of S’Espalmador after the release of the Ibiza-set music video for her new single Lifetimes.
The environment department of the Balearic Islands issued a press release on Tuesday claiming that the video’s production company did not secure the proper authorization before filming.
Continue reading...Family call for $3m in licensing fees stemming from Trump’s frequent use of the Hayes-penned Sam & Dave track Hold On, I’m Comin’
The family of late soul and funk singer Isaac Hayes has ordered Donald Trump to stop using the Hayes-penned song Hold On, I’m Comin’ at campaign rallies.
A letter sent to Trump and his campaign team, shared by Hayes’s son Isaac Hayes III, threatens Trump with legal action if he continues to use the 1966 Sam & Dave song, written by Hayes and David Porter. It alleges copyright infringement, and also demands $3m in licensing fees incurred from the use of the song between 2022 and 2024.
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