Wigan borough music venue boss calls for support from big bands like Oasis

Fans queued online for hours on Saturday to get tickets, only to find prices up to £200 higher than advertised, thanks to a “dynamic” pricing strategy.

Rachel Flaszczak, director of The Snug in Atherton, believes acts at the very top should remember their roots.

She said: “They should come out and say a few words about visiting small venues – most of the venues Oasis started out in are no longer there. We need support from the top as more small venues are closing their doors, whilst Ticketmaster will report record profits.

“Small venues play a vital role in nurturing emerging talent, providing a platform for artists to grow and connect with audiences. When ticket prices are increased to extortionate levels, it not only puts a strain on fans, but also makes it challenging for smaller venues to attract audiences.”

Rachel spent five hours queueing online for Oasis tickets, but dynamic pricing meant she “couldn’t justify paying that amount of money”.

“If these artists like Liam and Noel spread the message to music lovers of going to your grassroots music venue and visit these places as that’s where they started. If they could just get on our side and voice opinions on going back to their roots, it would make a big difference to everybody,” she said.

“Ticket companies can help sustain the music ecosystem as a whole. This not only ensures that there are more opportunities for bands to headline larger venues in the future but also helps in maintaining a vibrant and diverse music scene.”

Rachel flagged the efforts of Music Venue Trust, saying: “MVT have done tonnes of research and hard work on getting the Government to listen. There’s a select committee report waiting to be actioned and I hope this Oasis situation highlights the struggles of the everyday music lover.

“The select committee report is there. It’s just waiting to be actioned because that was put together by the Conservative government, but we still want the Labour government to act. If they could just introduce that levy that would feed back into grassroots venues.

“It’s vital that the Government find out who is responsible for the prices. Obviously there is going to be demand for Oasis tickets, it’s a huge reunion and everyone wants to go. The timing is perfect really as there are probably now three or four generations of Oasis fans. I wanted tickets to take my teenagers as they’ve grown up with Oasis, but now I don’t have that opportunity.”

Rachel highlighted the importance of grassroots venues for musicians.

“Oasis set out to be the biggest band in the world and they achieved that which is great, but they’ve also got to be humble and look back on where they came from,” she said.

“A lot of the venues they started off at aren’t open anymore. If they spoke to these grassroots music venues they would see how difficult it is to keep places open.

“We do this because we want to find the next Oasis and the next big act. We’re not doing this to make loads of money.”