Senators to dig deeper into Ticketmaster fiasco
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Taylor Swift winner at the 2022 American Music Awards. Photo: Sarah Morris/FilmMagic
Congress isn't looking to shake off the recent Ticketmaster fiasco over Taylor Swift tickets, announcing a new hearing that will dig into the ticketing service's recent troubles over the Eras Tour presale.
Why it matters: The announcement comes after Ticketmaster's website experienced glitches, high fees and cancellations during the Swift presale event, a situation that Swifties will remember all too well.
Driving the news: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said in a release emailed to Axios Tuesday that she and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) will hold a hearing before the Senate antitrust panel about the "lack of competition in the ticketing industry" following the Ticketmaster chaos.
- "The high fees, site disruptions and cancellations that customers experienced shows how Ticketmaster’s dominant market position means the company does not face any pressure to continually innovate and improve," Klobuchar said in a release. "That’s why we will hold a hearing on how consolidation in the live entertainment and ticketing industry harms customers and artists alike."
- No date or time was given for the hearing.
Flashback: Klobuchar may have some bad blood for Ticketmaster, as she wrote a letter to the company last week saying she had concerns about the service's lack of competition.
- The Tennessee and North Carolina attorneys general are also investigating Ticketmaster over antitrust violations.
The big picture: Swift shattered Ticketmaster's all-time record for most tickets ever sold for an artist in a single day during the presale for her first tour in five years, but the demand also broke the ticketing service's website, Axios reports.
- Ticketmaster said its website experienced multiple technical glitches and created "a terrible experience" for anyone trying to buy tickets.
- Swift apologized for the situation, saying the debacle "really pisses me off."
More from Axios:
Taylor Swift condemns "excruciating" Ticketmaster experience for fans
Ticketmaster cancels general public sale after Taylor Swift shatters record
Tennessee AG investigating Ticketmaster after Taylor Swift presale outages
