WASHINGTON D.C. (CelebrityAccess) — On Tuesday, a bi-partisan group of congressmen joined their colleagues in the U.S. Senate in raising concerns about Live Nation ticketing practices in the wake of a chaotic presale for Taylor Swift’s upcoming Eras tour.
The legislators from the Energy and Commerce Committee wrote a letter to Live Nation chairman & CEO Michael Rapino asking for details on Ticketmaster’s ticketing process for Swift’s Eras tour after fans experienced delays, interruptions and, ultimately, no tickets after trying to secure tickets in a presale in November.
The letter was signed by Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Ranking Member Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chair Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Ranking Member Morgan Griffith (R-VA), and Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee Chair Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Ranking Member Gus Bilirakis (R-FL).
“The Energy and Commerce Committee has previously raised concerns about business practices in the live ticketing industry,” the Committee leaders wrote. “The recent pre-sale ticketing process for Taylor Swift’s upcoming Eras tour—in which millions of fans endured delays, lockouts, and competition with aggressive scammers, scalpers, and bots—raises concerns over the potential unfair and deceptive practices that face consumers and eventgoers.”
“To better understand the obstacles consumers have recently faced and to hear an update on actions the company has taken to maximize the experiences of average consumers, we request a Committee staff briefing with your company,” the bipartisan Committee leaders continued. “This should include a discussion on additional fees, insider reserves, dynamic pricing, restrictions on transferability, limited ticket availability, speculative ticketing, verified fan program requirements, and scalping by bots and other scammers.”
The Committee’s letter is a follow up to their 2019 investigation into allegations of unfair and deceptive practices in the live event ticketing industry and requests that Rapino contact committee staff to arrange a hearing no later than December 15th, 2022.
