Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has joined ‘Kennedy’ to discuss his investigation into Ticketmaster after pre-sale tickets for Taylor Swift’s upcoming tour failed.
A group of Taylor Swift fans have filed a lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, following the debacle that unfolded last month when the company put concert tickets on sale for the Swift’s next tour.
Swift’s fan lawsuit alleges that Ticketmaster engaged in antitrust violations, deceptive practices, fraud and price fixing during the ticket sales fiasco. She also accuses Ticketmaster of encouraging scalpers because the company receives royalty income when tickets are resold on its platform. Ticketmaster did not immediately respond to Fox Business’ request for comment.
TICKETMASTER APOLOGIZES TAYLOR SWIFT FANS FOR SALES DISASTER
Ticketmaster canceled a planned sale of tickets to the general public for Swift’s “The Eras Tour” last month after its system was overwhelmed with demand during a two-day presale event, leaving insufficient inventory for tickets. additional sales.
The “Verified Fan” presale event attracted 3.5 million people. Ticketmaster distributed access codes to 1.5 million of these fans based on historical demand and buying habits for pre-sale events, with the remaining 2 million placed on a waiting list. The verified fan registration process is intended to avoid queues of ticket buying robots used by resellers and to make the process smoother.
Taylor Swift waves to fans as she visits the Reputation Stadium at Croke Park on June 16, 2018 in Dublin, Ireland. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/TAS18/Getty Images for TAS/Getty Images)
TAYLOR SWIFT TICKETMASTER DEFAULT CATCHES SENATE ANTI-TRUST PANEL’S ATTENTION
Unfortunately for Swift fans, Ticketmaster explained that its system was overwhelmed during the pre-sale by potential buyers who had not received access codes and bots attempting to purchase tickets. Greg Maffei, CEO of Liberty Media, majority shareholder of Live Nation, told CNBC that 14 million people and bots were on the site, which caused technical difficulties.
This resulted in hours of waiting for many fans, with some reporting that their codes weren’t working when purchasing the tickets they had added to their basket, causing them to lose the tickets that were within reach. .
Following the chaotic pre-sale event, Ticketmaster canceled the public ticket sale citing “extraordinarily high demands on the ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory”.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 20: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Taylor Swift, winner of Favorite Pop Album, Favorite Female Pop Artist, Favorite Music Video, Favorite Country Album, Country Artist favorite female and artist of the year, poses in the meadow ((Photo by Sarah Morris/FilmMagic via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
In the aftermath of the debacle, Ticketmaster apologized to Taylor Swift and the millions of fans who went through the ordeal. “We want to apologize to Taylor and all of her fans, especially those who had a terrible experience trying to purchase tickets,” Ticketmaster announced on Twitter.
Taylor Swift also apologized to fans for the situation and said she and her team had repeatedly asked Ticketmaster “if they could handle this type of request and we were confident they could.”
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“It’s really amazing that 2.4 million people got tickets, but it really pisses me off that a lot of them feel like they’ve been through multiple bear attacks to get them,” said Swift. “And to those who didn’t get tickets, all I can say is that my hope is to give us more opportunities to come together and sing these songs. Thank you for wanting to be there. You have no idea how much that means.”
File – A Ticketmaster website displayed on a computer screen. The Justice Department is reportedly investigating Ticketmaster’s parent company for possible antitrust violations, this follows news that Taylor Swift concert ticket sales have topped ((Photo illustration by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)/Getty Images)
The situation has led to calls for a closer look at the market power of Ticketmaster and Live Nation in the entertainment industry.
The Justice Department reportedly launched an antitrust investigation into Ticketmaster following the fiasco.
The senses. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) have sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission urging the consumer protection agency to clarify what it is doing to crack down on ticket scammers who use bots to horde the tickets. The bipartisan duo are the authors of a 2016 law on the subject known as the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act, which aims to punish those who circumvent checks by online ticket sellers aimed at deterring purchases. by bots.
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Several Democratic senators have said the ticket sales and distribution company should be dissolved if wrongdoing is discovered during an investigation.
Additionally, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced an investigation into Ticketmaster to ensure that no consumer protection laws were violated.
Ronn Blitzer, Stephanie Giang-Paunon, Julia Musto and Lauryn Overhultz of Fox Business contributed to this report.
