Taylor Swift has publicly criticised Ticketmaster for the chaotic handling of ticket sales for her upcoming Eras tour, describing the experience as 'excruciating' for her to witness. In a statement posted to Instagram, the singer said she had asked Ticketmaster 'multiple times if they could handle this kind of demand and we were assured they could'.
The controversy comes as the US Justice Department investigates Ticketmaster's parent company, Live Nation Entertainment, for potential antitrust violations. The probe, which predates the Swift furore, focuses on whether Live Nation has abused its dominance in the live entertainment industry.
Record demand for Swift's first tour in five years caused the company's website to crash, left fans waiting for hours during presale, and led to the cancellation of the public sale scheduled for Friday. Tickets were later listed on resale sites for up to $22,000.
Swift acknowledged that 2.4 million people did secure tickets, but expressed frustration that many felt they had 'gone through several bear attacks' to get them. She vowed to try to provide more opportunities for fans to see her perform.
The debacle has sparked renewed scrutiny of Ticketmaster's market power. Senator Amy Klobuchar, chair of the Senate antitrust committee, expressed 'serious concern' about competition in the ticketing industry, while Tennessee's attorney general launched a consumer protection investigation. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called for the company to be broken up, tweeting that the merger with Live Nation 'should never have been approved'.
