MUSIC – If we are far from the lyrics of the song Anti-heroin which Taylor Swift calm “I’m the problem, it’s me”the Ticketmaster platform admitted on Tuesday, January 24, to having a “ responsibility “ in the cacophony around ticket sales for the tour american star last November.
Company executives were being questioned more broadly before the US Senate about their dominance in the concert ticketing market. The subject inspired several senators, who quoted the singer’s words during the hearing, as shown in the video at the top of the article.
“Ticketmaster had the audacity to insinuate that the pre-sales debacle was Taylor Swift’s fault for not doing enough gigs. With respect, may I suggest that Ticketmaster should look in the mirror and say, ‘I’m the problem, I’m’”for example launched the democrat Richard Blumenthal in reference to the first single of the scrapbook Midnightsreleased at the end of 2022.
We want to apologize to Taylor and all of her fans – especially those who had a terrible experience trying to purch… https://t.co/pOahiBQN1J
—Ticketmaster (@Ticketmaster)
The Democratic Senator Amy Klobucharhead of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee, said: “To have a strong capitalist system, you need competition. You can’t have too much consolidation. It’s something that, unfortunately for this country, in the words of Taylor Swift, we know all too well.”echoing the words of All too well.
Republican Mike Lee has quoted the performer – of whom his daughter is a fan – on several occasions, including referring to possible restrictions on ticket resales by buyers. “A lot of people seem to think that’s kind of a solution. I think ‘it’s a nightmare disguised as a daydream'”he said, quoting the title Blank Space.
Ticketmaster offered a half-worded apology
“Looking back, there are several things we could have done better”, conceded Joe Berchtold, head of Live Nation Entertainment, parent company of Ticketmaster, while he was on the grill of the US Senate. However, he hastened to point out the shared responsibility of“bot attacks” which would have significantly slowed down the operations of the platform during the sale of Taylor Swift tickets.
Endless wait times, bugs, and skyrocketing prices… During the early sales of the tour “eras” (“epochs”), which starts on March 18, a litany of fans had complained on social networks.
This chaotic situation had revived criticism of the dominant position of this giant in the ticket sales sector, which merged in 2010 with the entertainment giant Live Nation. Without naming her directly, the singer had tackled the platform in an Instagram post, claiming to be “ out of it” after seeing so many of his fans” live a nightmare.
“That is exactly the definition of a monopoly”
If the pop star did not make the trip to Congress on Tuesday, senators heard testimony from Clyde Lawrence, a soul singer, who castigated “ the total absence of visibility” that artists have in relation to the fees charged by the platform. Because in addition to selling tickets, Live Nation also owns a large number of concert halls.
“If they want to charge us $250 for 10 clean towels, they can, and they did”criticized the musician. “That is exactly the definition of a monopoly”denounced Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar.
“Live Nation is so powerful that it doesn’t even need to exert any pressure, to issue any threats. People just fall into line”, criticized the chosen one. The rock legend’s concert prices Bruce Springsteensome of which amounted to thousands of dollars, also caused an uproar in early 2022.
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