Ticketmaster might have kicked a hornet nest with the disastrous rollout of Taylor Swift‘s presale tickets because some of her fans, who also happen to be lawyers, are looking into ways to take action against the ticketing giant.
Mashable reports a group of “Swiftie lawyers” created a LLC titled Vigilante Legal — in honor of Taylor’s song “Vigilante S***” — shortly after the ticketing fiasco to strategize over any potential legal recourse.
Blake Barnett, the 30-year-old lawyer who started Vigilante Legal, explained, “Something needs to be done. They’re violating antitrust laws. The monopoly merger should have never been allowed to happen between Live Nation and Ticketmaster.” She adds her message resonated beyond Swifties and non-fans are helping the cause, such as by looking to see if the Sherman Antitrust Act, which guarantees competition in the marketplace, has been violated.
In the meantime, these lawyers are reaching out to fans who also took part in the presale to gather evidence against Ticketmaster for a report they intend to file with the Federal Trade Commission. They will share their findings and opinions with politicians via an amicus brief.
It should be noted politicians such as Senator Amy Klobuchar and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have openly criticized Ticketmaster in the wake of the ticketing fiasco.
In addition to Vigilante Legal, nearly 50,000 Swifties have signed an Action Network petition demanding that Live Nation and Ticketmaster be broken up and requesting the Department of Justice investigate them.
As previously reported, Live Nation is being investigated by the Justice Department’s antitrust division for any potential abuse of power and to determine whether it “maintains a monopoly over the industry.”
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