Pop superstar Taylor Swift said on Friday it was “excruciating” for her to watch fans struggle to secure tickets for her upcoming US tour after she had been assured that Ticketmaster could handle large demand.
The New York Times reported that the US Justice Department was investigating whether Ticketmaster parent Live Nation Entertainment had abused its power over the multibillion-dollar live music industry. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to comment.
Many people hoping to land seats for Swift’s Eras tour, her first concerts in five years, said they waited hours and were repeatedly kicked off the Ticketmaster website during presales this week.
Swift said on Instagram it was “excruciating for me to just watch mistakes happen with no recourse.” Swift said she was “not going to make excuses for anyone” because her team had been assured multiple times by ticket sellers that they could handle a surge in demand. Ticketmaster offered seats for most shows on the 20-city, 52-date US stadium tour from March until August.
SeatGeek sold tickets for a handful of performances in Texas and Arizona and also reported long waits, urging fans to “please be patient”.
Ticketmaster and SeatGeek did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.
Earlier in the week, Ticketmaster said it experienced unprecedented interest in Swift's tour and worked quickly to resolve technical problems during presales. It cancelled sales to the general public scheduled for Friday.
Swift said it was “truly amazing” that 2.4 million people had bought tickets, “but it really pisses me off that a lot of them feel like they went through several bear attacks to get them.”
The singer said she was “trying to figure out how this situation can be improved in the future”.
– Reuters
