Taylor Swift, the world’s richest female singer with an estimated net worth of $1.6 billion, just completed her iconic ‘Eras Tour’ on December 8 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The massive two-year tour began in November 2022, a period that also marked the escalation of fan frustrations and political scrutiny on Ticketmaster because of issues related to ticket availability and pricing for her concerts.
Ranked one of the world’s greatest pop stars of the 21st century, Taylor Swift’s name became synonymous with Ticketmaster’s monopoly following the company’s botched presale of the Eras Tour that derailed many super fans from obtaining tickets. Ticketmaster was forced into the spotlight as fans accused the company of fraud, some even filing lawsuits. Fans were met with endless queues that never displayed available seats and broken checkouts that failed to process payments. Burned into the public’s mind, the conglomerate was under justified scrutiny.
“There are a multitude of reasons why people had such a hard time trying to get tickets and I’m trying to figure out how this situation can be improved moving forward. I’m not going to make excuses for anyone because we asked them, multiple times, if they could handle this kind of demand and we were assured they could,” Swift shared on Instagram.
When a star like Swift hosted the highest-grossing tour of all time at an estimated $2.2 billion and cities generated tens of millions of dollars for their tourism industry, the loyalty given by her fans makes Ticketmaster’s failure to deliver a high-quality experience for fans that much more bitter.
Spurring multiple congressional hearings investigating Ticketmaster’s misconduct and enough Taylor Swift references to last the decade, the Department of Justice sued Live Nation-Ticketmaster for a suite of different anticompetitive and anticonsumer allegations, including retaliating against potential competitors, using exclusionary contracts, and restricting artists’ access to venues.
Across the aisle, civil servants introduced legislation to try to better the ticketing industry, some that served to support fans and others that empowered and entrenched Ticketmaster’s market position even further. The end of the ‘Eras Tour’ is a bittersweet reminder of what brought Ticketmaster’s monopoly into the cultural zeitgeist and what more needs to be done to improve the concert experience. A future of secure ticket purchases, banned exclusionary contracts, and open transferability puts power back into the fans’ hands. Let’s grab our friendship bracelets and rally for a better ticketing experience.