Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-1-2023

Abstract

Almost anyone who has been to a concert, sports match, or any type of live event in recent years has likely had to deal with Ticketmaster, which commands a large majority of the ticketing industry. In November 2022, Ticketmaster faced public scrutiny after its website crashed during the pre-sale for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour. Frustrated fans logged off empty handed after hours of waiting and enduring the website’s glitches and eventual crash. Fans that did secure tickets were required to pay various fees, which Ticketmaster notoriously uses to drive up prices and “extract more money from consumers.” The Chairman of Live Nation Entertainment (“Live Nation”), Ticketmaster’s parent company, pointed to Swift’s immense popularity as the source of the crash, taking no accountability for its website’s failure. Swift’s fans, also known as “Swifties,” voiced their disdain for Live Nation’s handling of the pre-sale, and even filed a lawsuit against the company in the state of California in December 2022. The lawsuit alleges that Live Nation’s ongoing engagement in anticompetitive behavior harms the ticketing industry and consumers.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal website on March 1, 2023. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button above.

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