Live Nation's Ticketmaster Facing Scrutiny Over Taylor Swift Eras Tour Ticketing Issues

The Senate Judiciary Committee received an appearance by Joe Berchtold, President of Live Nation and the parent company to Ticketmaster. Berchtold testified regarding the technical issues experienced during Taylor Swift's Eras Tour ticket presale in November 2022.

Live Nation had merged with Ticketmaster in 2010, forming a dominant presence within the live events industry by serving as the primary link between artists and venues across the United States. Despite facing criticism for its market power over the past decade, the company was thrust into the spotlight following widespread issues encountered by fans attempting to purchase tickets.

Berchtold attributed the ticket presale fiasco primarily to an unprecedented wave of scalper bots. We knew that there would be bots attacking the on-sale, he explned in his opening statement. Despite our planning and efforts, we were overwhelmed with three times more bot traffic than ever before seen during a Verified Fan on-sale event.

Berchtold acknowledged several shortcomings in Live Nation's response to these events, including not staggering sales over a longer period as well as not setting proper expectations for fans regarding ticket accessibility. However, he urged the senators to recognize the significant problem scalpers face using bots and cyber-attacks.

During testimony by Amy Klobuchar, Chr of the Senate's anti-trust subcommittee, it was highlighted that Live Nation controls key aspects of the market. She criticized Live Nation’s dominant status noting its ownership over venues as well as exclusive contracts that deter competitors.

Klobuchar stressed: Live Nation is so powerful that it doesn't even need to exert pressure because people just fall in line. There has been limited accountability for Live Nation's flures, she added, with examples such as Taylor Swift and her fans experiencing difficulties.

Berchtold acknowledged the criticism but pointed out that stronger enforcement of bots under current law could have been implemented. As the leading player in this industry, he stated, we are committed to doing better.

Jerry Mickelson, co-founder of Jam Productionsa concert promoting companyquestioned Ticketmaster's capability agnst bots and accused Live Nation of imposing longer contracts 10 years instead of the standard 5-year terms on venues.

Jack Groetzinger, CEO of SeatGeek, a direct competitor of Ticketmaster, testified that such long-term contracts reduce competition and were actively promoted by Live Nation recently.

These testimonies follow widespread criticism directed at Ticketmaster over its performance during Taylor Swift's ticket presale, which fled to prevent resale prices from skyrocketing, with tickets fetching as high as $22,700.

Ticketmaster eventually cancelled sales for the general public due to extremely high demand. The company has since sold more than 2 million tickets for the tour, a scenario that would have seen it fill nearly 900 stadiums had such demand been satisfied.

In response to these events, Taylor Swift expressed her frustration with Ticketmaster. She lamented the lack of trust in an outside entity handling concert relationships and highlighted the evident difficulties encountered by fans trying to purchase tickets.
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