Swift fans were waiting for a verified code that would allow them to enter the pre-sale for the tour. On the day after they were selected, they were met with a lot of chaos. Many walked away empty-handed after long waits and a crashed website.
The Swifties were angry and sprang into action. They used social media to make TikToks. They looked into filing class action lawsuits against Ticketmaster. They became so loud that they reached out to the ears of some politicians. An antitrust investigation by the US Department of Justice into Live Nation Entertainment became public on Friday.
People have been complaining about poor service and high fees for a long time. The DOJ investigation likely isn't related to the failed ticket run, but rather the problems surrounding the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. Swift is not the first artist to be involved in the ticketing drama.
Live Nation Entertainment has been accused of coercing venues to use Ticketmaster and holding back tickets. Experts say there could be legal grounds to break up the giant. Diana Moss, president of the American Antitrust Institute, says that the Swift ticket nightmare is deserving of antitrust scrutiny.
Live Nation Entertainment has caught the attention of law enforcement before. The US government had a chance to act against the firm. The 2010 consent decree that guided the merger was found to have been violated by the company's control over the touring business. The DOJ added an amendment to the consent decree that made it clear that Live Nation could not retaliate against venues that did not sell tickets through Ticketmaster.
Swift's tour is managed by another company. AXS was chosen over Ticketmaster. The company didn't reply to questions about why it used the site. The public sale of tickets was canceled because there wasn't enough inventory.
According to experts, the company has coasted without making improvements to its systems because it is one of the only games in town. This week's chaos shows that the program was not effective in rooting out bots and ticket resales. Live Nation didn't respond to questions about it.
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