Dear Editor,
I had the privilege of participating in the Bob Marley concert at Dalymount Park in Dublin in 1980, where I attended from early morning prepping the stage, observing sound checks, and the main event itself. The experience still resonates with me today, elucidating how times have transformed.
The event organiser, Pat Egan, initially had the notion to sell tickets at £10 each, but this was countered by Marley who wanted to keep the pricing to a maximum of £8. Considering that my income as a 22-year-old was approximately £60 per week, a ticket would have used about 15% of my weekly earnings.
If this proportional cost was imposed on an Oasis ticket today, it would necessitate an average weekly wage of over €2,500.
In comparison to other topics, Oasis devotees shouldn’t allow their attention to be diverted by the concept of flexible pricing. The fluctuation of prices according to demand is a practical matter for almost every single product and service we purchase.
Rather than implementing controls on pricing, a more beneficial alternative for consumers would be to examine if Ticketmaster has exerted its prevalent market role unfairly.
Look at the airline ticket market for example, where passengers can readily swap airlines if they are disconcerted with the fluctuating pricing scheme applied to seat charges.
Yours faithfully,
SEAMUS O’MALLEY,
Dublin 3.