Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee issued a stern warning to Ticketmaster Thursday after Beyoncé announced her Renaissance world tour: “We’re watching.”
Lawmakers have been eyeing Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation since the debacle surrounding Taylor Swift’s highly anticipated Eras Tour. Millions of her fans waited hours to get tickets in November, but many were left empty-handed amid site problems and opaque rules about how to register for advance access. Ticketmaster later canceled the general sale, apologizing but blaming what they called “unprecedented demand” for tickets.
The senators held a committee hearing last month after a firestorm when lawmakers from both sides of the aisle condemned Live Nation’s president, Joe Berchtold. Ticketmaster and Live Nation were cleared to merge in 2010, but some question whether the company has succeeded in becoming a monopoly in ticketing and touring.
“This whole concert ticket system is a mess — it’s a monopolistic mess,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), a member of the Judiciary Committee, said at the time.
Berchtold argued that Ticketmaster had an “obligation to do better”, but he rejected ideas that the wider company was a monopoly.
Demand for Beyoncé’s tour is now off the charts. Live Nation said this week that the number of sign-ups (a prerequisite to being able to buy tickets later) “already exceeds the number of available tickets by more than 800%” in some cities. Additional dates have been added in cities including Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Houston.
The full list of shows starting in Europe can be found here.
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