The American ticket sales platform Ticketmaster and the parent company Live Nation Entertainment received widespread public criticism and political scrutiny over blunders in selling tickets to the United States leg of the Eras Tour (2023), the sixth concert tour by the singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, in November 2022.
Media outlets described the demand for the Eras Tour's tickets as "astronomical", with 3.5 million people registering for the Ticketmaster's Verified Fan pre-sale program in the U.S. When the sale went online on November 15, 2022, the website crashed in an hour, with users logged out or in a frozen queue; however, 2.4 million tickets were sold, breaking the record for the highest single-day ticket sales ever by an artist. Ticketmaster attributed the crash to heavy site traffic—"historically unprecedented demand with millions showing up"—but users complained about poor customer service. Live Nation blamed Swift's "staggering" demand "overwhelming" them beyond capacity, canceled the general sale due to "insufficient" inventory, and published an apology.
Scalpers had purchased a large number of tickets and put them on ticket resale websites for exorbitant prices. Numerous fans and consumer groups alleged that Ticketmaster is deceitful. In response, several U.S. Congress members voiced to revert the 2010 merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation, which they dubbed a monopoly lacking competitive pressure, leading to substandard service and extortionate prices. The U.S. Department of Justice initiated a federal probe. Swift's tour promoter, AEG Presents, said Ticketmaster's exclusive deals with the majority of U.S. live venues coerced AEG into working with them. In December 2022, several fans sued Ticketmaster for many violations such as intentional deception, fraud, price fixing, and antitrust.
Publications opined that the controversy highlighted one of the longstanding issues in the music industry. Ticketmaster distributed invalid tickets for the World's Hottest Tour of Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny in Mexico City, which led to overcrowding at the venue, attracting more criticism. The PROFECO fined Ticketmaster 10 percent of its 2021 income. In 2023, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee examined the fiasco with a hearing, where bipartisan senators castigated Ticketmaster. States such as New York, Texas, Massachusetts, and California outlawed scalper bots and regulated pricing models. Following pressure from Joe Biden, the U.S. president, Ticketmaster and other ticket platforms agreed to abolish junk fees and show consumers all the fees upfront. The Federal Trade Commission decided to impose a federal ban on all deceptive, surprise fees. Ticketmaster again faced criticism in mid-2023 when the U.K. and French sales of the Eras Tour experienced similar issues.
Background
Company
Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc. is an American ticket sales and distribution company based in Beverly Hills, California with operations in many countries around the world. It was founded in Phoenix, Arizona in 1976 by college staffers Peter Gadwa and Albert Leffler, as well as businessman Gordon Gunn III.
In 1994, American rock band Pearl Jam filed a complaint with the antitrust division of the U.S. Department of Justice, claiming that Ticketmaster has a "virtually absolute monopoly on the distribution of tickets to concerts" and attempted to book its tour only at venues that did not use Ticketmaster. However, no action was taken on Ticketmaster. In the 21st century, Ticketmaster became the largest ticket sales company in the world.
In February 2009, Ticketmaster entered into an agreement to merge with the world's largest event promoter, Live Nation, to form Live Nation Entertainment. The deal was cleared by the U.S. Justice Department in January 2010 under the condition that the company sell Paciolan to Comcast Spectacor or another firm, and license its software to Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), its biggest competitor. The new company, which would be called Live Nation Entertainment, would also be subject to provisions for 10 years that prevented it from retaliating against venues that partnered with competing ticketing firms. Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino was named CEO of the new company.