All because of Taylor Swift?
According to The Wall Street Journal, the Department of Justice is reportedly preparing an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster.
The lawsuit will address concerns regarding Ticketmaster's dominance in live ticketing. It is expected to be filed in May 2024.
The Antitrust Concerns
Antitrust concerns were first brought up when Live Nation and Ticketmaster merged in 2010. The situation intensified in November 2022 due to a technical issue with Ticketmaster, which caused frustration among Swifties attempting to purchase tickets for the Eras Tour.
For Swift's tour, ticket sales were made available on November 15, 2022 to those who had signed up as Ticketmaster Verified Fans and were provided with a unique code for purchase.
However, despite following the protocol, many fans encountered extensive wait periods, sometimes lasting for hours, and encountered frustrating "error" messages during the checkout process.
This incident led to the Department of Justice launching an inquiry into Ticketmaster's parent company.
Lawmakers didn't hold back in their critique of the ticketing company, especially Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who described Live Nation's business practices as a "definition of monopoly."
Senator Klobuchar noted that despite President Joe Biden's announcement last year that Live Nation and Ticketmaster are required eliminate undisclosed ticketing fees during checkout, these companies have not taken sufficient action.
The lawsuit reportedly claims "...allege the nation's biggest concert promoter has leveraged its dominance in a way that undermined competition for ticketing live events."
But according to a Ticketmaster rep, "Ticketmaster has more competition today than it has ever had, and the deal terms with venues show it has nothing close to monopoly power."
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Swift Responds to the Drama
It was clear that even Ticketmaster was ill-prepared for the frenzy that followed.
Swift later on responded to the drama surrounding the ticketing platform.
In November 2022, the "Anti-Hero" singer said, "Well, it goes without saying that I'm extremely protective of my fans. We've been doing this for decades together, and over the years, I've brought so many elements of my career in house."
"I've done this SPECIFICALLY to improve the quality of my fans' experience by doing it myself with my team who care as much about my fans as I do."
She added, "It's really difficult for me to trust an outside entity with these relationships and loyalties, and excruciating for me to just watch mistakes happen with no recourse."
Swift acknowledged the challenges Swifties faced while attempting to secure tickets, recognizing the need to improve future ticketing processes.
The 14-time Grammy winner shared her commitment to improving the ticket-buying experience for fans and emphasized her stance on accountability.
Meanwhile, she expressed gratitude for fans' support and acknowledged their success in securing tickets despite challenges.
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