Taylor Swift fans eagerly awaited Monday to get their hands on their golden ticket: a verified code that will grant them access to Ticketmaster’s pre-sale for the icon’s upcoming Era Tour. The next day, when the selected people signed up to buy, they get into chaos. Long waits and a website hangs for hours and then has to be left empty-handed.
Furious, the Swifties mobilized. They tweeted and created TikToks. They began to consider filing a class-action lawsuit against Ticketmaster and discovered themselves antitrust initiative. They became a chorus loud enough to reach legislators like the New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and US senator Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota). On Friday, when anger reached its peak, An antitrust investigation is underway by the United States Department of Justice into Live Nation Entertainment, the parent company of Ticketmaster, has gone public.
Swifties did not discover a new problem—everyone complained about Ticketmaster’s poor service and high fees for many years. And the basis for the DOJ’s investigation may not be the failed ticket sales, but the ongoing issues surrounding Ticketmaster’s 2010 merger with Live Nation, a major player in the travel business. global show. Swift isn’t the first artist to get caught up in box office drama, but she could be one of the last.
Competitors have accused Live Nation Entertainment of forcing venues to use Ticketmaster, suffocating competition in the ticket resale market and keep ticket. Given these factors, experts say there may be a legal standing to bust this giant monster. “Setup Created” [the Swift ticket nightmare] Diana Moss, president of the American Institute of Antitrust, said it deserves antitrust scrutiny.
Despite its popularity, Swift’s story isn’t the first time Live Nation Entertainment has attracted the attention of law enforcement. The US government took the opportunity to take action against the company in 2019. The DOJ found that the company had leveraged its control over the touring business to promote venues using Ticketmaster, one violate the consent decree 2010 guided the merger. But instead of breaking up Live Nation Entertainment, the DOJ extended its consent decree through the end of 2025 — and added an amendment that further states that Live Nation may not threaten or retaliate against non-ticketing venues through Ticketmaster .
Swift’s tour is not managed by Live Nation, but by competitor. However, Ticketmaster was chosen instead of AEG AXS’s own ticketing platform. AEG did not respond to questions about why it is using Ticketmaster for sales. Ticketmaster also cancel public ticket sale on November 18, citing a lack of inventory.
Experts say Ticketmaster’s status as one of the only games in town that has allowed the company to grow without improving its systems. Its Verified Fan pre-sale program aims to root out bots and ticket resellers, but this week’s chaos shows it’s not working either. Neither Ticketmaster nor Live Nation responded to requests for comment.
