Taylor Swift, reacted to the failures around the sale of tickets for her next tour in the United States, sold on Ticketmaster, reinforcing the pressure on this American giant in the sector, often accused of monopoly.
Many fans of the American singer had complained in recent days on social networks about endless waiting, errors and skyrocketing prices during the first sales on the “Eras” tour platform, which starts on March 18.
On Thursday, Ticketmaster even canceled the public sale that was to begin on Friday, “due to particularly high demand (…) and an insufficient stock of remaining tickets.”
“It’s really hard for me to have to depend on an outside entity,” Taylor Swift reacted on her Instagram page Friday, highlighting years of special relationships and loyalty with her fans.
“And it’s unbearable for me to see mistakes happen without being able to do anything about it,” he added.
A record sales figure
Without directly naming Ticketmaster, the 32-year-old adds that he has no intention of “giving excuses to anyone.” “We asked them, on several occasions, if they could accommodate these types of requests and they assured us that they could,” she adds.
“It’s really great that 2.4 million people have been able to get tickets, but it bothers me that so many of them feel like they’ve had a nightmare getting them,” he continued, vowing to do everything possible to improve the situation.
During the pre-sale of the singer’s tour, organized this Tuesday, Ticketmaster explained that he sold 2 million tickets, a record for an artist in one day.
Despite verification of fan accounts and a system of codes to purchase tickets in advance, Ticketmaster complained of “a dizzying number of bot attacks,” automated systems. The company explains that it received 3.5 billion requests.
Following Taylor Swift’s speech, the platform apologized in a statement posted to Twitter.
open investigation
This cacophony has reignited criticism of the dominance of ticketing industry giant Ticketmaster, which in 2010 merged with entertainment giant Live Nation.
Antitrust and consumer protection groups have recently called for an investigation into this group, which they say allows it to “inflate prices, impose unnecessary and costly fees, and exploit artists, independent venues, and fans.”
The price tag for rock legend Bruce Springsteen’s concerts, some of which ran into thousands of dollars, had already caused protests earlier this year.
Friday, the New York Times announced, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter, that the Department of Justice has opened an antitrust investigation into Live Nation Entertainment, as a result of the merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation.
Source: BFM TV
