Tuesday was a big day for government-minded Swifties as a Senate hearing called into question the lack of competition in the ticketing industry. The issue has come under scrutiny after Ticketmaster canceled the public sale of Taylor Swift’s upcoming tour in November. Below, find all the details on what is sure to be the most Swift-influenced Senate hearing in history.
What exactly is Ticketmaster accused of?
Since Ticketmaster merged with Live Nation at 2010, thereby eliminating the latter source of competition, it has been claimed that the company represents a live show A monopoly in the ticketing industry. Today, Ticketmaster’s pricing adjusts to consumer demand, meaning some fans are automatically priced out of tickets no matter how early they try.
Is Taylor Swift at the hearing?
No, not in person, but the singer released a statement shortly after the failed ticket sale condemning Ticketmaster, which read in part: “I’m not going to make excuses for anyone , because we asked them multiple times if they could handle the demand, and we were sure they could. It’s amazing that 2.4 million people got tickets, but it annoys me that a lot of them feel like they’ve been through a few times Bear attacks to get votes.”
Who else present at the hearing?
Senators Dick Durbin, Lindsey Graham, Amy Klobuchar, Mike Lee, etc. attended the hearing. The title of the hearing was “That’s the Ticket: Promoting Competition and Protecting Consumers in Live Entertainment.” Defense, blaming bots and ticket scalping for Swift ticketing dispute.
Reaction to Ticketmaster’s defense?
In November, Klobuchar wrote a scathing letter to Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino, which read in part: “Regarding system failures, increased fees, and The conduct of Ticketmaster’s consent order demonstrates Ticketmaster’s continued abuse of its market position.” At today’s hearing, JAM Productions CEO and President Jerry Mickelson disagreed with Berchtold’s insistence that robots were to blame for the problem, saying: “You can’t allow what happened What happened to Taylor Swift was blamed on robots. There are more stories you haven’t heard.”
What might happen next?
It was announced last week that Mickelson, James Madison Institute Senior Vice President Sal Nuzzo and the Antitrust Institute witnessed the Ticketmaster hearing will be before the full Judiciary Committee It was held before, although it’s too early to tell whether it will have any real impact on Ticketmaster’s control of the market. Kathleen Bradish, vice president of legal advocacy, both testified that they view Ticketmaster as a monopoly.
