Sir, – I was fortunate enough to work at the Bob Marley gig in Dalymount Park in Dublin in 1980, so I was there from 9am for the set-up and witnessed the sound checks and the gig itself. It was an amazing experience and one I’ve never forgotten. I also thought how much things have changed.
The promoter, Pat Egan, said he had wanted to charge £10 per ticket but Bob Marley insisted on the ticket price being no higher than £8. I estimate that as a 22 year old was earning about £60 pounds a week then, so a ticket would have worked out at roughly 15 per cent of my weekly wages.
If this percentage were applied to an Oasis ticket today, one would need to be earning over €2,500 per week. – Yours, etc,
FERGUS MADDEN,
Goatstown,
Dublin 14.
Sir, – Oasis fans should not be distracted by the issue of dynamic pricing. The response of prices to higher demand is an economic reality for practically every good and service we purchase.
Rather than introducing price controls, a better outcome for customers would be to determine whether Ticketmaster has abused its dominant market position.
Contrast the market for airline tickets, where travellers can more easily switch carriers if they are dissatisfied with the dynamic pricing model used to calculate seat fares. – Yours, etc,
SEAMUS O’MALLEY,
Dublin 3.