Ticketmaster sparks fan outrage and legal debate

Fans, having waited days, weeks or even months for this moment, eagerly log onto Ticketmaster to join millions in their battle for Taylor Swift tickets. Butterflies in their stomach and heart racing, they enter the queue line to wait their turn to snag the most coveted concert tickets of the year. But through website crashes, fluctuating prices and online traffic, many fans were unable to purchase tickets.

Senior Julia Frauendorff was one of the millions who were unsuccessful in obtaining tickets and holds the company responsible for her experience.

“The whole experience was super frustrating because when the presale started, we were very early in the presale queue, but when the website crashed we lost our spot in line. The whole day was stressful only because the company didn’t foresee so many people wanting tickets,” Frauendorff said.

This negative experience on Ticketmaster was due to the company being poorly prepared for the demand of these tickets. Fans who attempted to buy tickets using a presale code logged into a website that quickly crashed under what Ticketmaster called “unprecedented traffic.” Due to this unanticipated high demand, Ticketmaster canceled sales to the general public a day before they were supposed to open.

While Junior Taylor Mitchell was able to buy tickets, she still feels the company should be held accountable for their ill preparation.

“[Ticketmaster] knew how many people they gave presale access to and should have been aware that they sent presale codes to more people then they had tickets for,” Mitchell said.

Frauendorff feels similarly to Mitchell regarding how Ticketmaster ran the releasing of the concert tickets.

“I think Ticketmaster had a lot of time to prepare for this mass demand. They were the ones that released presale codes and should’ve at least foreseen something like that happening,” Frauendorff said.

This event led to the Tennessee and North Carolina attorney generals investigating Ticketmaster for allegedly violating consumers’ rights and antitrust laws. Members of Congress have expressed similar concerns about the company’s immense power in the live music industry, leading to their ability to destroy venues and artists who refuse to work with them. If Ticketmaster is found to have violated consumer protection laws, financial penalties could be taken against the company.