Ticketmaster: Do Better

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It was frustrating, to say the least. Millions of fans worldwide endured delays, long waiting queues, and multiple crashes to be left with no tickets at all. Recently, fans stormed the Ticketmaster website for the chance to see Taylor Swift, but millions were unsuccessful. A few days prior to the general sale for the Taylor Swift Eras Tour, Capital One cardholders were given access to a presale from November 15 through November 17, as Capital One is the national presenter for Taylor Swift’s tour. Though many fans were unable to buy tickets during the presale, they had hoped to buy them through the general sale. Imagine their surprise when Ticketmaster tweeted that there wasn’t enough ticket inventory left to even offer a general sale. It was a war zone. The presale had sold out in a matter of minutes. Needless to say, it ended in a mess. 

For a while now, Ticketmaster has been under intense scrutiny for its ticket sale practices, and many lawmakers, such as Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, believe they’re a monopoly – especially after their 2010 merger with LiveNation, a global entertainment company. Not only do lawmakers notice the imbalance, the U. S. Department of Justice has also taken interest, opening an investigation on their abuse of power prior to the Eras tour fiasco. Congress has also prodded Ticketmaster to answer to concerns about bot management on the website.

Ticketmaster has been abusing their prominent place in the entertainment industry, and it’s evident that their practices were long overdue to be questioned. They disregard their role in controlling the event ticket sale market and don’t take responsibility for the issues they have caused. The government’s ability to recognize this negligence is, nevertheless, a direction that I’m glad to see being thought of. The entertainment industry has evolved immensely – and as it continues to expand, such large companies should be held accountable for their actions. 

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The presale had sold out in a matter of minutes. Needless to say, it ended in a mess.

 

It isn’t uncommon for ticket sales for popular events to be in high demand and sell out quickly. But the underlying principle of how individuals or companies purchase tickets to sell them at significantly higher prices is absurd – especially when tickets can skyrocket to thousands of dollars. Though Ticketmaster has implemented measures to combat ticket resales and created a verification process for ticket buyers, in this case, it certainly did not work. Many fans left the website with disappointment instead of tickets, and many have opted to sue Ticketmaster for its incompetence. 

It’s unfortunate that millions of fans will be unable to see Taylor Swift live, but it is more painful to see how the situation was handled. Ticketmaster should’ve taken more responsibility and even more precautions before the incident escalated.Their response only showed how they care more about sale numbers than the well-being of their consumers. Hopefully, further action is taken against Ticketmaster because an event such as this has no business being swept under the rug. They are one of the most prominent faces in the ticket sale industry, and they deserve to be held accountable.