Overwhelmed by demand, the Ticketmaster site is canceling the public sale of tickets for Taylor Swift’s US tour.

The announcement of Taylor Swift’s return to the stage in early NovemberFour years after his last tour, there was a stir. It became a fiasco when tickets went on sale.

“Due to the particularly high demand (…) and the insufficient supply of remaining tickets to meet this demand”The public sale of tickets for the singer’s American tour scheduled for Friday has ended “Canceled”, This was reported by the specialized website Ticketmaster on TwitterThursday, November 17.

The company said it sold 2 million tickets for the pop star during a presale on Tuesday, a record for a single day for an artist. Despite security measures in place, such as verifying fan accounts and issuing codes to pre-purchase tickets, the ticketing site complained in a statement. “Dizzying number of bot attacks”.

Waiting, crashes and price increases

Ticketmaster’s system received 3.5 billion requests that resulted in errors, the company said. Thousands of fans have shared their experiences on social media, complaining of hours-long waits, errors and price hikes for sometimes-unavailable seats.

Ticketmaster-affiliated ticketing sites also reported delays, service outages and other problems after a massive influx of fans, many of whom were ultimately unable to get tickets even though they received presale codes.

The cacophony has fueled debate about this behemoth of the ticketing industry, which has frustrated music fans for years, particularly due to hidden fees and soaring prices. Prices for rock legend Bruce Springsteen’s concerts, which run into the thousands of dollars, sparked protests earlier this year, but Ticketmaster blamed the resale market. Some resellers are already asking between $2,000 and $9,000 (€1,900 to €8,600) for Tyler Swift’s tour, which is set to begin in March and end in August 2023 after 52 marathons.

“In recent years, the ticket resale market has grown to $10 billion, and artists and crews have lost that revenue to resellers.”Ticketmaster said, adding that event organizers were trying “Recover Lost Revenues” in “Relevant Market Prices”.

“Monopoly out of control”

A spokesperson for the band said Ticketmaster is not involved in reselling tickets for Taylor Swift shows. Doubts remain about how many places are left for sale and how they will eventually come to market. “While it may not be possible for everyone to get tickets to this show, we know we can do more to make the experience better and that’s what we’re focused on.”– said in the company’s statement.

Several US lawmakers criticized the 2010 merger between Ticketmaster and entertainment giant Live Nation, calling it “Monopoly is out of control” by Democrat David Cicilini, who in 2021 asked the US Department of Justice to investigate “Live Nation’s Efforts to Raise Prices and Stifle Competition”. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Richard Blumenthal want to study in the same camp “The state of competition in the ticketing sector. »

Antitrust and consumer protection associations have also recently called for an investigation into the group. “Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation Entertainment, have a monopoly on the industry that allows them to routinely abuse their power, leaving customers, artists and venues at their mercy.”Christa Brown, an analyst at the non-governmental organization American Economic Liberties Project, told Agence France-Presse.

Already in the 1990s, the American rock band Pearl Jam denounced Ticketmaster’s practices, and two of its members testified before a congressional subcommittee. But few people had the courage to follow the Seattle group in its approach, which ultimately led to no legal consequences.