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Ticketmaster faces antitrust scrutiny after Taylor Swift ticket chaos
Summary
Ticketmaster is facing antitrust scrutiny from the Tennessee attorney general after its chaotic presales for tickets to Taylor Swift’s tour. The public sale for tickets was cancelled due to high demand and Ticketmaster’s inability to meet that demand. Other state attorney generals are also looking into the matter. The company is also facing criticism from politicians and consumer rights groups who say that it has too much power over the ticketing market.
Q&As
What are the complaints against Ticketmaster?
The complaints against Ticketmaster are that they have a monopoly on the ticketing market and that they violated consumer’s rights and antitrust regulations.
What is the Break Up Ticketmaster campaign?
The Break Up Ticketmaster campaign is an alliance of consumer rights groups that are pushing for a break up of Ticketmaster and Live Nation.
Who is Jonathan Skrmetti?
Jonathan Skrmetti is the Tennessee attorney general who is looking into whether Ticketmaster violated consumer’s rights and antitrust regulations.
What did Ticketmaster say about the high demand for tickets?
Ticketmaster said that the high demand for tickets was due to the popularity of the Eras tour.
What is the Eras tour?
The Eras tour is Taylor Swift’s first tour in four years and comes after the release of her new album “Midnights.”
AI Comments
👍 This is great news! I'm glad to see that Ticketmaster is finally facing some scrutiny for their monopolistic practices. I hope this leads to some real change in the ticketing industry.
👎 I don't see what the big deal is. Yes, the presale was a little chaotic, but Ticketmaster is just trying to meet the high demand for tickets. I don't see how this is a violation of any laws.
AI Discussion
Me: Ticketmaster is under fire again, this time for their presales for Taylor Swift's tour. Apparently, the process was very chaotic and many fans were unable to buy tickets.
Friend: Yeah, I've been trying to get Taylor Swift tickets for weeks now and I still haven't been able to get any. It's so frustrating.
Me: I know. And it looks like the attorney general in Tennessee is investigating whether Ticketmaster violated any consumer protection laws.
Friend: That's good. I hope something comes of it. The Ticketmaster-Live Nation monopoly needs to be broken up.
Action items
- Join the Break Up Ticketmaster campaign.
- File a complaint with the attorney general’s office.
- Contact your representatives and tell them to support breaking up Ticketmaster and Live Nation.
Technical terms
- Ticketmaster
- a ticketing company that is facing antitrust scrutiny after its chaotic presales for tickets to Taylor Swift’s tour
- Antitrust
- the government regulation of monopolies to protect consumers
- Tennessee attorney general Jonathan Skrmetti
- the politician who is looking into whether Ticketmaster violated consumer’s rights and antitrust regulations
- Live Nation
- a concert promoter that merged with Ticketmaster in 2010
- Eras
- Taylor Swift’s tour
- Verified Fan program
- a program that is supposed to help fans get tickets to sold-out shows
- 3.5 million people registered for the Verified Fan program
- the number of people who registered for the program
- 1.5 million were given a special access code
- the number of people who were given a code that allowed them to buy tickets
- The rest were put on a waiting list
- the number of people who were not given a code and were put on a waiting list
- Ticketmaster’s decision to cancel sales
- the decision to cancel the public sale of tickets
- Fans deserve a fair chance to buy a ticket
- the belief that fans should have a fair chance to buy tickets
- State attorney generals
- the lawyers who represent the state governments
- Washington Post
- a newspaper that reported on the story
- TechCrunch
- a website that contacted Ticketmaster and the Skrmetti’s office for comment
- Midnights
- Taylor Swift’s new album
- Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
- a politician who has raised concerns over the combined company of Ticketmaster and Live Nation
- Representative David N. Cicilline
- a politician who has raised concerns over the combined company of Ticketmaster and Live Nation
- Representative Bill Pascrell, Jr.
- a politician who has raised concerns over the combined company of Ticketmaster and Live Nation
- An alliance of consumer rights groups
- a group of consumer rights groups that launched a campaign last month called Break Up Ticketmaster