Written by: Gretchen Sims
When Taylor Swift announced “The Eras” tour, it is fair to say that fans were ecstatic. However, the announcement’s excitement ultimately paled in comparison to the absolute despair and heartbreak caused when Swift’s tickets finally went live.
Ticketmaster, the site that launched Swift’s tickets, could not withstand the demand and their website consequently derailed. The whole thing was a mess. Many fans were kicked off the site and most were left ticketless after waiting hours for the pre-sale to go live. However, this was just the beginning. After the Capital One pre-sale, even more Swifties swarmed the site — hoping to get their hands on the remaining tickets — only to be told that the general sale would be canceled due to unprecedented high demand.
Obviously, this caused fans worldwide to take to social media in an outraged frenzy — eventually gaining the attention of the United States Department of Justice.
Turns out, the core issue with Ticketmaster was not just poor infrastructure. In fact, the company had previously merged with one of the biggest names in the entertainment industry — Live Nation.
After the 2010 merger, many questioned the company, some even going as far as to call it a monopoly. Live Nation essentially controlled all of the concert venue markets and, once it merged with Ticketmaster — the biggest name in ticketing — it was basically the only name in the industry. However, it was not until the public outcry surrounding Swift’s Eras tour erupted that a policy window opened — one that the Senate Judiciary Committee took full advantage of.
The bipartisan antitrust hearing was held on Jan. 24, and the overall consensus was that the merger was damaging the music industry as a whole.
So what are the implications? Swift had no other resource to post her tickets to, other than one that was unable to keep up with the demand her tour would curate. If Live Nation Entertainment is ruled to be a monopoly and breaks up, then that would open up the ticket and venue markets that are currently only occupied by one corporation.
If competition is finally established, growth and improvement will be encouraged and Taylor Swift fans will no longer shed a tear when purchasing tickets for the best day of their lives.
Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu
