Who would have thought that in 2022 Taylor Swift would lead to the possible downfall of Ticketmaster??
As we reported earlier on Friday, the influential songstress addressed the company’s epic fiasco surrounding the presale of her Eras Tour Verified Fans tickets on Tuesday. While Live Nation Entertainment — Ticketmaster’s owner — placed blame on Tay and her Swifties, the 32-year-old wrote that it was really the ticketing agency who failed! Her loyal followers had plenty to say about all the drama though, continuing to take entertainment company to task in the hours after their fave’s statement! In all, the star expressed being peeved by the whole process:
“There is 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 going 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. It’s truly amazing that 2.4 million people got tickets, but it really pisses me off that a lot of them feel like they went through several bear attacks to get them.”
Related: Drake Shades Taylor With Petty Emoji Commentary!
Despite Taylor’s not-so-swift response, some of her followers took to Twitter, writing:
Maybe an opinion you wouldn’t expect from me, but I’ve always really appreciated how Taylor Swift has publicly picked fights against the most craven kinds of exploitation that musicians and consumers face in her industry https://t.co/F4kpg6TXFy
— Jackson Voss (@jacksonvoss) November 18, 2022
I love you @taylorswift13. The actions of a corporation could never come between us.
— a m a n d a ???????????? ERAS TOUR 7/29 (@fearlessamanda_) November 18, 2022
yall taylor swift is just as pissed off at ticketmaster as everyone else is. like they promised her that they could handle the demand then went on to blame her for the “unprecedented demand” like bffr don’t make promises you CANT keep!! pic.twitter.com/MeZCrQNu0H
— jojo (@taymastermind) November 18, 2022
You know she is pissed when she starts with "Well".
— The Great War. ???? (@KalendaeNonae) November 18, 2022
@taylorswift13 #WeLoveYouTaylor ???????? never doubted you for a millisecond! pic.twitter.com/HjAEpfm5f5
— ✨️ Samantha ✨️ (Taylor's Version) (@MamaEmmerson) November 18, 2022
The blame lies with Ticketmaster. Anyone saying differently is wrong. It’s their job to handle the demand. They shouldn’t have done a lot of things they did.Taylor cares and always has about her fans. To say differently is wrong #TaylorSwiftTheErasTour #taylorswift #Ticketmaster pic.twitter.com/56AFxpeTLx
— Amanda K (@amandaksheets) November 18, 2022
HOMEGIRL IS PISSED #weloveyoutaylor #TaylorSwift pic.twitter.com/l35eFa5tAX
— hot stuff (@swiftieniftyy) November 18, 2022
Y’all have to understand she is pissed about this too. Anyone saying she doesn’t care anymore can respectfully fuck off #TaylorSwift pic.twitter.com/3m6V5Jf9y8
— Becca???? (@becca_j2018) November 18, 2022
taylor swift publicly siding with her fans against a huge corporation like ticketmaster and risking her touring career and relationship with this monopoly is honestly the most loyal thing I can think of I don't wanna hear ever again that she doesn't care about her fans
— zozo???? || fan account || (@zoenchanted) November 18, 2022
Amid her response, news also broke on Friday about the Department of Justice opening an investigation into Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation Entertainment. It was reported to The New York Times from two people close to the situation, which will be focused on the abuse of power with its supposed “multibillion-dollar” monopoly.
Snap, snap!!
The antitrust probe isn’t entirely thanks to Taylor, though, as one of the sources shared Justice Department staff have for months been contacting different venues and ticket agencies about how the industry has been affected, particularly in terms of “Live Nation’s practices.” As of the time the outlet published their piece, the Justice Department declined to comment (of course, it’s an active investigation) and Live Nation had yet to speak out.
You can see just a few of the many HIGHlarious — and straight-up — reactions to the drama (below)!
Never underestimate Taylor Swift's power https://t.co/wrDZAviRy2 pic.twitter.com/TO01WW5ypJ
— gara (@MissEnchanted_) November 18, 2022
31 House Dems push for Ticketmaster investigation “in light of the Taylor Swift tour fiasco.” pic.twitter.com/ulRMCxqrP2
— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) November 18, 2022
Shout out to the Taylor Swift fans who crawled so that Beyoncé fans could run for the #RenaissanceTour tickets. Greatly appreciated. https://t.co/4F9JTUYEg4
— kevikev (@KevCoke6) November 18, 2022
This isn't about Taylor Swift and its bigger than ticketmaster.
As industries consolidate around fewer and fewer megacorporations it drives prices up and wages down.
Media, Agriculture, Baby Formula, the Auto Industry… they're not competitive markets and that hurts consumers. https://t.co/1CZDi6bx1R— Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (@RepBonnie) November 18, 2022
Let’s not forget about Pearl Jam though, the band which called out Ticketmaster for its hiked-up fees (at least $2 at the time) back in 1994 — officially filing a complaint with the Department of Justice!! Not only did the rock group boycott the ticketing agency’s supposed monopoly over the industry, but mostly went without a summer tour for their popular album in favor of finding venues not associated with the sales giant! Unfortunately for them, the investigation was eventually dropped, leaving the band’s members to continue their Vitalogy album circuit with Ticketmaster…
Perhaps Swift will win the fight this time?
[Image via Taylor Swift/YouTube]
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