A number of political leaders have joined the chorus of condemnation for Ticketmaster’s performance during the Taylor Swift Eras Tour presale this week, with many calling the company a “monopoly” in need of breaking up. The criticism has largely come from the Democrat side of the political spectrum, with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez firing the opening shots on Tuesday afternoon.
“Daily reminder that Ticketmaster is a monopoly,” she tweeted early in the afternoon, by which point the presale had already seen major breakdowns and fan complaints from across the country. “It’s merger with LiveNation should have never been approved, and they need to be reigned in. Break them up.”
Daily reminder that Ticketmaster is a monopoly, it’s merger with LiveNation should never have been approved, and they need to be reigned in.
Break them up.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 15, 2022
As of Wednesday afternoon, that post had been retweeted more than 48,000 times, and liked 338,800 times, with a long thread of agreement (and some disagreement, as is natural) in reply. Fellow Democrats were quick to echo similar sentiments themselves throughout the day Tuesday and into Wednesday.
“Break Up Ticketmaster” was the simple statement from Minnesota’s Ilhan Omar, who included video from President Biden’s comments about cracking down on “junk” fees last month in her post.
Break up Ticketmaster. https://t.co/oFxUrNmfSs
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) November 15, 2022
“It’s no secret that Live Nation-Ticketmaster is an unchecked monopoly,” added Rhode Island Democrat David Cicilline, who is the Chair of the Subcommittee on Antitrust on the House Judiciary Committee and a co-author of a 2021 letter asking the Department of Justice to investigate Live Nation over competition issues.
.@Ticketmaster‘s excessive wait times and fees are completely unacceptable, as seen with today’s @taylorswift13 tickets, and are a symptom of a larger problem.
It’s no secret that Live Nation-Ticketmaster is an unchecked monopoly.
— Congressman David N. Cicilline (@RepCicilline) November 15, 2022
Rep. Bill Pascrell, longtime Ticketmaster critic and another co-author of the same letter as Rep. Cicilline, also jumped on twitter to rail against Ticketmaster once more. He has already called on the DOJ to undo the Ticketmaster merger, having made that request earlier this year during the similarly roiling presale for Bruce Springsteen’s tour in 2023.
🎟️Update: the @taylorswift13 portal is not going well for many Swifties. I’m hearing about site crashes and fans waiting for hours. You’d think all these service and convenience fees could go to a working website @ticketmaster.https://t.co/lzd5qRY6Ig
— Bill Pascrell, Jr. 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@BillPascrell) November 15, 2022
Even White House Chief of Staff Ronald Klain took to bashing the ticketing giant, sharing an Axios story regarding the ticket sale meltdown and pointing out that the Student Loan Forgiveness website was able to handle eight million applications in just over 24 hours without crashing.
Over my years in the public and private sectors, I’ve had people tell me: If only the government could work like business.
Well, the team at @USEdgov and @USDS built a Student Loan Forgiveness portal that processed 8 MILLION applications in the first 30 hours without a crash. https://t.co/VaaoTMVycg
— Ronald Klain (@WHCOS) November 15, 2022
Will any of the heat from politicians translate into meaningful action against Ticketmaster and Live Nation? That remains to be seen, But with the amount of consumer anger directed at the massive companies, which continue to post record-shattering profits built off of price-surging tactics, it’s possible that this week’s latest volley of anger will feature more than some elected officials taking pot shots at a company that people love to hate.
In case any Swifties got to this story in hopes of finding tour details or links to other options for ticket purchase because of the fiasco on the primary market, those details are below:
Taylor Swift Ticket Links
Tickets at MEGASeats.com | No Service Charge/Free Shipping – 10% Off Using Code TICKETNEWS
Tickets at Event Tickets Center
Tickets at Scorebig
Tickets at StubHub
Tickets at Ticket Club | Free Membership Offer
Tickets at TicketNetwork
Tickets at TickPick
Tickets at TicketSmarter
Taylor Swift The Eras Tour Dates
Friday, March 17 – Glendale, AZ | State Farm Stadium !&
Saturday, March 18 – Glendale, AZ | State Farm Stadium !&
Friday, March 24 – Las Vegas, NV | Allegiant Stadium %&
Saturday, March 25 – Las Vegas, NV | Allegiant Stadium %&
Friday, March 31 – Arlington, TX | AT&T Stadium %+
Saturday, April 1 – Arlington, TX | AT&T Stadium %+
Sunday, April 2 – Arlington, TX | AT&T Stadium %+
Thursday, April 13 – Tampa, FL | Raymond James Stadium %+
Friday, April 14 – Tampa, FL | Raymond James Stadium %+
Saturday, April 15 – Tampa, FL | Raymond James Stadium %+
Friday, April 21 – Houston, TX | NRG Stadium %+
Saturday, April 22 – Houston, TX | NRG Stadium %+
Sunday, April 23 – Houston, TX | NRG Stadium %+
Friday, April 28 – Atlanta, GA | Mercedes-Benz Stadium %+
Saturday, April 29 – Atlanta, GA | Mercedes-Benz Stadium %+
Sunday, April 30 – Atlanta, GA | Mercedes-Benz Stadium %+
Friday, May 5 – Nashville, TN | Nissan Stadium $&
Saturday, May 6 – Nashville, TN | Nissan Stadium $&
Sunday, May 7 – Nashville, TN | Nissan Stadium $&
Friday, May 12 – Philadelphia, PA | Lincoln Financial Field $&
Saturday, May 13 – Philadelphia, PA | Lincoln Financial Field $&
Sunday, May 14 – Philadelphia, PA | Lincoln Financial Field $&
Friday, May 19 – Foxborough, MA | Gillette Stadium $&
Saturday, May 20 – Foxborough, MA | Gillette Stadium $&
Sunday, May 21 – Foxborough, MA | Gillette Stadium $&
Friday, May 26 – E. Rutherford, NJ | MetLife Stadium $&
Saturday, May 27 – E. Rutherford, NJ | MetLife Stadium $+
Sunday, May 28 – E. Rutherford, NJ | MetLife Stadium $+
Friday, June 2 – Chicago, IL | Soldier Field #?
Saturday, June 3 – Chicago, IL | Soldier Field #?
Sunday, June 4 – Chicago, IL | Soldier Field #?
Friday, June 9 – Detroit, MI | Ford Field #?
Saturday, June 10 – Detroit, MI | Ford Field #?
Friday, June 16 – Pittsburgh, PA | Acrisure Stadium #?
Saturday, June 17 – Pittsburgh, PA | Acrisure Stadium #?
Friday, June 23 – Minneapolis, MN | U.S. Bank Stadium #?
Saturday, June 24 – Minneapolis, MN | U.S. Bank Stadium #?
Friday, June 30 – Cincinnati, OH | Paycor Stadium ^+
Saturday, July 1 – Cincinnati, OH | Paycor Stadium ^+
Friday, July 7 – Kansas City, MO | Arrowhead Stadium ^+
Saturday, July 8 – Kansas City, MO | Arrowhead Stadium ^+
Friday, July 14 – Denver, CO | Empower Field at Mile High ^+
Saturday, July 15 – Denver, CO | Empower Field at Mile High ^+
Saturday, July 22 – Seattle, WA | Lumen Field *+
Sunday, July 23 – Seattle, WA | Lumen Field *+
Friday, July 28 – Santa Clara, CA | Levi’s Stadium *+
Saturday, July 29 – Santa Clara, CA | Levi’s Stadium *+
Thursday, August 3 – Inglewood, CA | SoFi Stadium *?
Friday, August 04 – Inglewood, CA | SoFi Stadium *?
Saturday, August 5 – Inglewood, CA | SoFi Stadium *&
Tuesday, August 8 – Inglewood, CA | SoFi Stadium *&
Wednesday, August 9 – Inglewood, CA | SoFi Stadium *&
