Supersonic: How will an Oasis reunion tour generate revenue?

The band’s shows next summer are anticipated to be the most popular tour in British history, promising a significant financial success.

The Oasis reunion is anticipated to be the most popular tour in British history, offering a lucrative financial opportunity not just for the band, but also for managers, ticket sellers, stadium operators, and businesses capitalizing on devoted fans. Liam and Noel Gallagher’s decision to set aside their differences for a reported £50 million payday has ignited a frenzy for tickets, as fans overlook the cost of living crisis for a chance to see the band reunite after 15 years.

Next summer, a massive fan pilgrimage is expected, with dates set in Cardiff, Manchester, London, Edinburgh, and Dublin, following the profitable path of recent mega tours by Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. Mark Mulligan, head of music analysis and founder at Midia Research, notes that large-scale live music tours have become major economic events. As Beyoncé’s tour in Sweden caused a spike in Stockholm’s prices, leading to a “Beyoncé blip” in the country’s inflation rate, similar effects were observed in the UK with Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, which filled hotels and raised concerns about contributing to the UK’s inflation rate. Now, it’s Oasis’s turn to make an impact.

Members of the public have already taken to the social media platform X to voice their frustration over hotels in Dublin and Manchester canceling existing reservations that coincide with concert dates, only to relist the rooms at significantly higher prices. One user reported that Dublin hotels were relisting rooms at three times their original price, while another shared a map purportedly showing price differences before and after the tour announcement.

Sacha Lord, Greater Manchester’s night-time economy adviser, called on the Maldron hotel chain to “do the right thing” after receiving multiple complaints.

The chain, which operates two hotels in Manchester, explained that the cancellations were the result of a “technical error” that led to an overbooking for the nights of the Oasis concerts.

It appears that Oasis is attracting not only renewed interest from their long-time fans but also capturing the attention of a new wave of Generation Z music lovers.

MCD has announced that 80,000 tickets for the Oasis concert at Croke Park in Dublin will go on sale this weekend, with prices starting at €86.50 (£73) plus a booking fee.

However, the biggest beneficiary is likely to be Live Nation, the US-based giant that owns Ticketmaster and numerous venues worldwide. The company has experienced a surge in business due to the pent-up demand for live music following the Covid lockdowns.

Live Nation, which is still dealing with the aftermath of a cyber-attack in June that compromised the personal data of potentially hundreds of millions of Ticketmaster customers, reported a 36% increase in revenue last year, reaching $22.7 billion (£17.2 billion). The company’s global revenue has doubled since 2019.

Alice Enders, the director of research at Enders Analysis, stated: “The major trend in consumer music spending is not on recorded streaming services but on live music experiences, for which super-fan groups are willing to pay a premium.

“Oasis has been absent from both the recorded music and live music scenes, and their reunion will drive ticket sales as well as increased streaming of their songs.”

Since the announcement of the reunion tour, Spotify has reported a 690% increase in daily streams of Oasis songs globally, compared to average streaming levels.

Other businesses hoping to benefit from this renewed interest include the clothing brand Pretty Green, founded by Liam Gallagher in 2009 and now owned by Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, as well as merchandise sellers.

Birmingham City University has estimated that the 14-date UK tour could generate £400 million in ticket sales and related revenue. However, Enders remains skeptical of such high projections, arguing that the tour is too small to generate such figures unless ticket prices are significantly inflated. “Fourteen dates in the UK does not make a whale,” she noted. “Unless the ticket prices exceed £100 plus booking fees, which could deter fans.”

The most profitable world tour to date is Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, which grossed over $1 billion from 60 shows, followed by Coldplay, who earned $945 million from 153 shows between 2022 and 2024. Elton John’s farewell tour made $939 million from 330 shows between 2018 and 2023.

Despite the smaller scale of their initial tour, Oasis has the potential to join the ranks of mega-earning acts in the future. Plans are reportedly in place to take the show international after next year’s UK dates—assuming the Gallagher brothers can keep their long history of conflicts in check.