Amy Klobuchar tweeted out that Live Nation will be appearing before Congress on Tuesday, January 24th to answer questions about their fees, failing websites, long waits, and surely other issues.
Live Nation has been under fire after various debacles and many, many unsatisfied customers. Bruce Springsteen fans saw tickets rocket to thousands of dollars in the blink of an eye. Taylor Swift fans saw not only that but the site crash making it impossible for her fans to get their much anticipated tickets to see her in concert. Deadheads who continue to follow current incarnations of the psychedelic band Grateful Dead have seen prices go through the roof in minutes. The story repeats over and over ad nauseum.
The one common denominator all of these fans have is that Live Nation and Ticketmaster, which is owned by Live Nation, is selling the tickets. The company has deals with virtually every major venue in the nation which gives them what many believe is a defacto monopoly on ticket sales.
As we reported, some Taylor Swift fans have gone as far to sue Ticketmaster for what they believe is bad business practices and monopolizing the industry:
The lawsuit alleges several things. First, the lawsuit, filed in a California court on Friday, alleges Ticketmaster and its parent company were anti-competitive, imposing higher prices on fans in the presale, sale and resale market. It claims Ticketmaster forces concertgoers to exclusively use its site and controlled all registration and access to Swift’s “The Eras Tour.”
The Swifties are seeking a penalty of $2,500 for each violation, and if they are successful, could do some serious financial damage to Ticketmaster, based on the millions of angered fans who did not receive tickets.
Millions of Americans are hoping that the Senate will have some success in changing what they see as a broken, monopolistic ticket system.
