On December 12, 2022, almost a month after Taylor Swift’s latest tour tickets went on sale, Ticketmaster released an update on the current status of the Era’s Tour causing public outrage among Swifties after canceling a planned public sale.
“You have been identified as a fan who received a boost during the Verified Fan presale but did not purchase tickets,” they stated. “We apologize for the difficulties you may have experienced, and have been asked by Taylor’s team to create this additional opportunity for you to purchase tickets.”
This offer was strictly sent out to fans who had already received a pre-sale code on November 8th and were scheduled to buy tickets on November 15th. Fans who had not received any type of code would have been able to get tickets on November 18th, but it was canceled last minute due to the high demand. “Ticketmaster is a monopoly that is only interested in taking every dollar it can from a captive public,” one lawsuit states.
When Taylor announced her “Era’s” tour, it was well known that it would be one of (if not the) most awaited tours in the world, but Ticketmaster failed to rise to the promises made to fans regarding ticket availability. Many fans had filed lawsuits against the company due to charging fans money and not giving them tickets.
Live Nation stated that it “takes its responsibilities under the antitrust laws seriously” and “does not engage in behaviors that could justify antitrust litigation, let alone orders that would require it to alter fundamental business practices.” The mishandling of the Era’s tour ticket sales and the resulting price gouging on resale sites (for tickets selling as high as $45,000) has many fans– as well as the U.S. government— calling for an investigation into Ticketmaster’s abuse of power in the music industry.
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