Ticketmaster in France on Tuesday ‘was forced to suspend the sale of tickets for concerts in his country’Eras Tour’ Taylor Swift, The feeling of ‘deja vu’ was inevitable. The same thing happened in November last year. inside United States of Americawhere the platform collapsed after selling 2.4 million tickets for the tour that put the artist on stage for the first time in five years. He did it under his weight, as those responsible claimed. before a unique demand and attack of ‘bots’ Used by scalpers to accumulate reward passes.
That fiasco and the political weight of a figure who transcended the musical field like Swift a cultural, economic and social phenomenon was the protagonist of a Senate hearing in January. There, at a session where various senators performed their viral moments by referencing Swift’s lyrics and titles, The monopolistic practices of Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation, the two giants that merged to form one giant in 2010, have been questioned.
Not only did something close to a miracle happen, it brought Republicans and Democrats together to figure out what happened, tried to prevent it from happening again, and supported consumer protections. A wave of laws that could change things, both at the federal and state level, has also gained momentum.
legislative wave
At least two bills targeting the operation of the market for ticket sales and resale were presented in each of the two Chambers of Congress. The legislation also aims to increase the transparency of companies, forcing them to inform the buyer in advance of the commission costs and other costs associated with entry, Surcharges, which can represent up to 27% of the final price, according to the State Accountability Bureau’s 2018 report.
At the state level, ‘Save Our Swifties’ has already become a law in Texas, a rule in honor of the artist’s followers.will fine pirates who use bots to collect tickets. And there are other proposals in California, Massachusetts or Minnesota, legislation that would force commissions to detail the price of tickets upfront, with the title ‘1989’ as the fifth of Swift’s ten studio albums.
Ticketmaster and Live Nation supported some of these proposals, but strong lobbying arms that have been operating for years have intensified opposition to others that will affect them more directly.. For example, Democratic Senators Amy Klobuchar and Richard Blumenthal will limit the long-term private contracts that Ticketmaster maintains with major venues for ticket sales. And another Democratic senator in Washington state, in frustration, withdrew a proposal to end the practice of “dynamic pricing.”which companies use to raise prices when demand increases.
In any case, the fiasco of Swift’s tickets, who expressed her anger at what happened in November and didn’t hide her “anger” at the fact that even those who bought them felt they had to go through several bear attacks to achieve it. “, It has renewed focus on the entertainment giant, which was investigated by the Department of Justice for potential violations of the terms allowed for the merger in 2019.