News Desk
WASHINGTON: US senators grilled Live Nation Entertainment, the Ticketmaster’s parent company, at a hearing after a major fiasco involving ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s upcoming concert tour.
Live Nation Entertainment Inc, which has frequently faced criticism from fans and politicians, has drawn fresh heat from US lawmakers over its handling of ticket sales last fall for Swift’s “Eras” tour, her first in five years. Experts say Ticketmaster commands over 70% market share of primary ticket sales in the US for major concerts.
Live Nation Apologizes to Taylor Swift
“We apologize to the fans, we apologize to Swift, we need to do better and we will do better,” Joe Berchtold, the entertainment company’s president and chief financial officer, told the US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday.
He said that a lot could have been done better – including staggering the sales over an extended period and doing a better job setting fan expectations for getting tickets.
Republican Senator Mike Lee remarked that the Ticketmaster debacle depicted the importance of considering whether “new legislation or perhaps just better enforcement of existing laws might be required to protect the American people.”
Senators condemned Berchtold for Live Nation’s fee structure and inability to deal with bots that buy bulk tickets and resell them at inflated prices.
“There is no transparency when no one knows who sets the fees,” Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar said, responding to Berchtold’s claim that Live Nation fees fluctuate based on “ratings.”
Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn termed Live Nation’s bot problem “unbelievable,” pointing out that much smaller firms are able to limit bad actors in their systems.
She added, “You ought to be able to get good advice from people and figure it out.”
Swift’s Concert Fiasco
In November 2022, Ticketmaster’s site crashed during a presale event for Swift’s upcoming stadium tour. The firm said its site was overwhelmed by both fans and attacks from bots, posing as consumers to buy bulk tickets and then sell them on secondary sites.
