Lawyer warns Ticketmaster lawsuit over Taylor Swift Eras tour nightmare carries devastating risk for loyal fans

CONCERT-GOERS have been warned how a Ticketmaster lawsuit could directly impact their pockets.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation, the owner of Ticketmaster.

According to the lawsuit, the two live events companies merged in 2010 and dominated the industry, controlling about 80% of large concert venues.

“It is time to end Live Nation-Ticketmaster,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said last month.

In response to news of the Justice Department’s attempts to “break up” Ticketmaster’s alleged monopoly over the industry, attorney Jeffrey B. Simon spoke to The US Sun about the impact on consumers.

The author of Last Rights believes that “monopolies and capitalism are opposed to each other” and as a result, “we have antitrust laws to protect competition in the free market.”

“EXPRESSING”

“Apart from the merits of the case at hand, there is no doubt that concert tickets have become far too expensive,” he said.

“Gone are the days when musical art of the most renowned quality could be heard and seen at an affordable price in terms of American wages and working hours.”

The backlash against the company’s dominance in the live events industry comes after Taylor Swift fans had difficulty getting tickets to the star’s Eras tour.

The mounting faults caused Ticketmaster to cancel general ticket sales due to “extremely high demands” and “insufficient ticket stock”.

“It was terrifying for me to watch mistakes being made without help,” Swift said after fans experienced outages and long pre-order wait times.

“What really pisses me off is that many of them feel like they went through several bear attacks to get (tickets),” she added.

According to Sky News, some fans said they waited up to eight hours for tickets, with many eventually finding they were sold out.

Ticket prices for Swift’s sold-out tour ranged from $49 to $449, which is what Simon and the Department of Justice are focusing on.

Simon says the future ticket-buying experience for major live events depends largely on the outcome of the lawsuit, which could make Ticketmaster “bulletproof” in the industry.

With fans already struggling with exorbitant ticket prices, often accompanied by even more exorbitant ticket resale fees, Simon fears ticket prices could continue to rise.

‘BULLETPROOF’

The lawsuit’s impact on high ticket prices “depends on whether the Justice Department can prove that Ticketmaster’s business practices constitute an unlawful monopoly and that the company’s alleged yoke over the live music industry should be broken,” Simon said.

“If the Department of Justice is successful, the resale ticket market should become more competitive and thus lower ticket prices, at least for some meetings,” he explained.

“If the Department of Justice collapses, Ticketmaster will appear bulletproof and likely become more dominant.

“In turn, the market is likely to become less competitive and ticket prices will remain status quo or increase.”

The lawyer not only focused on the impact on consumers’ wallets, but also explained how the lawsuit could impact the stress associated with purchasing tickets.

“The current system, characterized by timers and virtual queues, causes significant anxiety and often results in a frustrating shopping experience,” he said.

“It would be helpful to analyze how concert tickets are sold, as well as to address the issue of monopoly control in the ticketing industry.”

He suggested introducing “fairer queuing systems” that clearly indicate a shopper’s position in the queue as well as the estimated waiting time.

“The practice of pre-sales, which often limits the availability of tickets to the public, must be reassessed to strike a balance between rewarding loyal fans and ensuring fair access for all,” he added.

Live Nation vowed to fight the “baseless allegations” in the lawsuit.

In a lengthy article on his website, company executive vice president Dan Wall addressed ticket prices and competition in the industry.

“This lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster will not reduce ticket prices or service fees,” he wrote.

“He blames the high ticket prices on concert organizers and ticket selling companies – neither of them controls ticket prices.

“It ignores everything that is actually responsible for higher ticket prices, from rising production costs to artist popularity to 24/7 online ticket scalping that exposes audiences’ willingness to pay much more than original ticket prices.”

Wall also noted that Ticketmaster’s decline in market share since 2010 is indicative of increasing competition in the industry.

The merged companies “do not have monopoly power,” he said, adding that the legal actions “distract attention from real solutions that would lower prices and protect fans.”

The US Sun has reached out to Live Nation and Ticketmaster for comment.