Ticket touts exploit Coldplay, Oasis, Billie Eilish demand
Coldplay, Oasis and Billie Eilish were the most touted artists of 2025, with fans paying up to £800 per ticket on resale sites, according to new research from O2.
The telecoms giant, which sold 1.7 million live event tickets via its ‘Priority’ platform last year, warned that the booming secondary market is leaving millions of Brits vulnerable to inflated prices.
This comes even as the government prepares legislation to ban ticket profiteering.
O2’s latest survey found seven million UK consumers used uncapped ticket resale platforms in 2025, despite more than a third, or 36 per cent, being unaware of how these sites operate.
Top of the resale charts were Coldplay’s tour, at 11 per cent, Oasis’ Reunion Tour at 10 per cent and Billie Eilish’s tour at 10 per cent, too.
Gareth Griffiths, director of partnerships and sponsorship at Virgin Media O2, said: “From Coldplay to Billie Eilish, 2025 proved Britain remains the beating heart of live music – but ticket touts continued to exploit fans and undermine that experience.
“Until legislation takes effect, reselling tickets at eye-watering mark-ups remains legal. Fans deserve a fairer ticketing system, and O2 will keep pushing to make that happen.”
Government crackdown
The UK government announced in November its intention to outlaw the resale of tickets above face value, targeting touts using bots to profit from high-demand gigs.
Ministers have promised the legislation will feature in the next King’s speech, alongside measures capping resale platform service fees and limiting the number of tickets resold per buyer.
Until the law comes into effect, fans are paying staggering mark-ups.
Olivia Dean tickets priced at £70 are being resold for £1,170, a 1,571 per cent increase, while £50 standing tickets for Lily Allen at the London Palladium are listed at £860, 1,620 per cent above face value.
O2 estimates that touts cost music fans £145 million a year, the equivalent of £400,000 a day.
Adam Webb, campaign manager at FanFair Alliance, said: “Until the government introduces the promised price-capping legislation, rogue resale platforms will continue to extract hundreds of millions from the UK economy. We will continue pushing for a fan-friendly market alongside O2.”