In November 2022, there was a major controversy involving Ticketmaster and a popular music artist being unable to properly distribute tickets for an upcoming tour. This resulted in public criticism and scrutiny of Ticketmaster’s policies and procedures. Here is a comprehensive look at what happened.
The Background
In early November, singer Taylor Swift announced she would be going on a new stadium tour called “The Eras Tour” in 2023. This would be her first tour since 2018. Swift has millions of devoted fans and her announcement caused huge excitement.
Ticketmaster was the exclusive ticket vendor for Swift’s tour. Pre-sales began on November 15 for fans who had special codes. However, the website crashed and complained of long wait times, unable to process their ticket requests. General public ticket sales were to begin November 18.
The Ticket Sale Fiasco
The November 18 public sale date turned into a complete fiasco. Ticketmaster’s site crashed yet again due to extremely high demand. Millions waited hours in queues, only to eventually receive error messages that no tickets were left.
In a statement, Ticketmaster blamed “extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory” for the issues. They stated over 2 million tickets were sold on November 15, yet millions more users were trying to purchase on November 18. The system essentially became overloaded and unable to handle the traffic.
The Aftermath
Taylor Swift soon released a statement expressing frustration over the situation:
“It goes without saying that I’m extremely protective of my fans. It’s really difficult for me to trust an outside entity with these relationships and loyalties, and excruciating for me to just watch mistakes happen with no recourse.”
On social media and news outlets, there was significant backlash aimed at Ticketmaster. Some of the major complaints included:
- The pre-sale system seemed to overwhelmingly favor certain groups like credit cardholders and Ticketmaster customers, rather than general fans.
- Ticket limit restrictions meant bots and scalpers could scoop up prime tickets.
- Lack of transparency around ticket availability and sales.
- Technical failures show Ticktemaster doesn’t have the capability to handle major artist releases.
- Higher market dominance leads to anti-consumer policies.
Many called for major reform and investigation into Ticketmaster’s practices. Some fans sued them for fraud. Politicians including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Amy Klobuchar commented and criticized their industry control.
Who is Taylor Swift?
Taylor Swift is an American singer-songwriter and one of the most popular and successful musical artists in the world. Some key facts about her career:
- First album released in 2006 when she was 16.
- Has won 10 Grammy Awards, including three Album of the Year awards.
- Her album sales exceed 100 million worldwide.
- Has had multiple record-breaking tours, grossing over $400 million each.
- One of the best-selling female artists of all time.
- Has fans across generations but especially millennials and Gen Z.
Swift has enormous influence in pop culture. She has very loyal and devoted fans who follow her every move. When she announced her first tour in years, demand was astronomical. Hence the huge Ticktemaster issues that ensued.
Who is Ticketmaster?
Ticketmaster is a ticket sales and distribution company that dominates much of the industry. It sells tickets for concert, sports, and theater events. Some key facts:
- Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Beverly Hills, California.
- A subsidiary of Live Nation Entertainment since the two merged in 2010.
- Charges service fees to ticket buyers and also service charges to event organizers.
- As of 2020, Ticketmaster sells around 500 million tickets across 30 countries each year.
- Estimates are they have 70% market share of major event ticketing in the US.
Due to its huge size and market dominance, Ticketmaster has less competition. Critics argue this leads to anti-consumer practices, such as exorbitant fees and other unpopular policies. But most major venues exclusively use Ticketmaster, giving fans little alternative when buying tickets.
Why Was Swift Mad at Ticketmaster?
Based on her own statement and fan reactions, there appear to be a few core reasons Swift was upset with Ticketmaster over this tour ticket debacle:
- They mishandled ticket distribution and did not adequately manage the exceptional demand.
- System failures prevented many loyal fans from getting tickets.
- Policies favored certain groups like scalpers over general fans.
- Lack of transparency around ticket availability and sale process.
- She cares about her fans and feels Ticketmaster broke trust.
Essentially, Swift seems frustrated that Ticketmaster botched the experience for so many of her fans. Their technical issues and policies came off as unfair and disadvantaging. She likely also worries this damaged her brand and relationship with fans.
What Has Been Ticketmaster’s Response?
Ticketmaster has responded to the controversy in a few ways:
- Issued public statements blaming extraordinarily high demand and lack of inventory.
- Refused refunds for tickets, blaming fans for website crashes.
- Defended their pre-sale policies as intentional and standard practice.
Their CEO Michael Rapino did apologize to Swift directly and customers generally. But Ticketmaster otherwise appears defiant that problems were unavoidable and not due to their policies. Their public responses have lacked remorse and not satisfied angry fans.
Could Swift Boycott Using Ticketmaster?
Some have speculated Swift could boycott using Ticketmaster for future concerts and tours. However, this seems unlikely for a few reasons:
- Ticketmaster has exclusive contracts with most major venues.
- Boycotting them would be logistically challenging and limit her options.
- She has already scheduled dozens of shows for “The Eras Tour.”
- Would disappoint fans who want to see her concerts.
- Could damage her financially and publicly if she cancels.
Realistically, Swift does not have the leverage to wage a boycott or switch ticketing companies at this point. She could make additional statements criticizing them or encourage fans to demand reforms. But Ticketmaster still holds the dominant industry position.
What Could Be Done to Improve the System?
There are several reforms advocates argue could improve the broken ticketing system:
- Break up Ticketmaster to reduce their market monopoly.
- More rigorous government regulation and oversight.
- Limiting bulk purchases and placing caps on resale prices.
- Increasing transparency around ticket availability and sales.
- New technologies like mobile ticketing to thwart scalpers.
- Fairer access for fan club members and general public.
Ultimately major structural changes would be needed in the industry. But pressure from top artists like Swift could keep the issue in the public conversation and lead to some incremental reforms.
Conclusion
The Ticketmaster fiasco with Taylor Swift’s tour revealed long-standing issues that anger fans. Swift and others feel their monopolistic practices are unfair and disadvantage consumers. While a major boycott from Swift seems unlikely, the controversy sheds light on anti-consumer policies and lack of competition in ticketing. It remains to be seen if any major reforms will follow. But the debacle demonstrates the need for improvements that better serve artists and fans.