Ticketmaster fallout continues: Congress announces hearing after Taylor Swift fiasco

“Last week, the competition problem in ticketing markets was made painfully obvious when Ticketmaster’s website failed hundreds of thousands of fans hoping to purchase concert tickets. The high fees, site disruptions and cancellations that customers experienced shows how Ticketmaster’s dominant market position means the company does not face any pressure to continually innovate and improve,” say committee chairwoman, Senator Amy Klobuchar. “That’s why we will hold a hearing on how consolidation in the live entertainment and ticketing industry harms customers and artists alike. When there is no competition to incentivize better services and fair prices, we all suffer the consequences.”

Ticketmaster parent company Live Nation has defended itself against accusations of a monopoly as well as criticism of its handling of Swift’s tour. The company blamed issues on “the staggering number of bot attacks” as well as fans without invite codes trying to participate in the presale.

Greg Maffei, CEO of Liberty Media (Live Nation’s largest shareholder), defended the service by noting that “AEG, our competitor, who is the promoter for Taylor Swift, chose to use us because, in reality, we are the largest and most effective ticket seller in the world.” He added, “Even our competitors want to come on our platform.”

However, AEG refuted Maffei’s take on the situation in a statement to CNBC: “Ticketmaster’s exclusive deals with the vast majority of venues on the ‘Eras’ tour required us to ticket through their system. We didn’t have a choice.” Definitely not helping Ticketmaster beat the monopoly allegations!