What could bring down extortionate ticket prices? Perhaps stars like Harry Styles taking a stand | Simon Price

"Styles announced a record-breaking 12-date residency at Wembley stadium this week, with ticket prices for seats ranging from 44.10 in the faraway stands right up to 466.24, while bog standard general standing tickets will set you back 144.65 and a berth in the fancy Circle, Disco, Square and Kiss standing enclosures up to 279.45. Furthermore, access to the presale was restricted to American Express cardholders and anyone who pre-ordered Styles' new album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally, which will be released on 6 March."

"The pricing has sparked an enormous backlash among Styles' fans for making the shows inaccessible to vast swathes of his audience, a significant proportion of whom are very young. But Styles is no outlier. The attitude towards ticket pricing in the entertainment industry seems to be, overwhelmingly, simply to charge as much as you can get away with charging. In recent years, Adele, Taylor Swift and Oasis have, like Styles, received intense criticism for their steep ticket prices."

"The last of those three came under particular scrutiny when it became apparent that dynamic pricing was at play, meaning that the original stated face value of tickets for Oasis gigs was essentially meaningless. In November 2025, the government made it illegal to resell tickets for above face value, preventing ripoffs by ticket touts, while the Competition and Markets Authority is making sellers like Ticketmaster be more clear about pricing all heartening measures."

Harry Styles was estimated at 200m and booked a 12-date Wembley residency with wide-ranging ticket prices from 44.10 to 466.24 and standing options priced at 144.65 and up to 279.45. Presale access was limited to American Express cardholders and fans who pre-ordered the new album Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally, releasing on 6 March. The pricing provoked huge backlash for excluding many fans, notably younger audiences. Similar criticism has targeted Adele, Taylor Swift and Oasis, particularly over dynamic pricing and resale. In November 2025 the government banned above-face-value ticket resale and regulators are pushing clearer pricing, though broader issues persist.

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