Congress has called upon Ticketmaster’s executives to explain what caused the Taylor Swift ticketing fiasco.
WLS reports U.S. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, who chairs the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee, is seeking answers into Ticketmaster’s sales process.
Schakowsky reached out to Ticketmaster after the presale left fans complaining of hourslong waits, site crashes and exorbitant prices to get tickets to Taylor’s Eras Tour. Those same fans are now raising alarm over the number of tickets being sold for ridiculous prices on third-party resellers.
“We want a complete explanation of the problems that we have had. So we are calling them in,” she said. Schakowsky wants Ticketmaster to not only explain how it sells tickets, but to look into ways of improving how it operates.
In her letter to Ticketmaster, which was signed by members of the bipartisan committee, she signaled concern that “millions of fans endured delays, lockouts, and competition with aggressive scammers, scalpers, and bots.” She says the fiasco also exposed “potential unfair and deceptive practices that face consumers and eventgoers.”
“I think in many ways consumers are really held hostage,” she said.
This is the latest development stemming from the disastrous rollout of Taylor’s ticket presale. Last month Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Marsha Blackburn called upon the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether Ticketmaster violated the 2016 Better Online Ticket Sales Act, which was designed to combat illegal bots that snatch up swaths of concert tickets before fans can get their hands on them.
In addition, Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee announced a hearing to look into the alleged monopoly critics say Ticketmaster has on the ticketing industry.
In addition, the Justice Department’s antitrust division is investigating Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster, for potential abuse of power.
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