Senators questioned whether Ticketmaster’s dominance in the ticketing industry led to its spectacular breakdown during a sale of Taylor Swift tickets.
Senators grilled Ticketmaster Tuesday, questioning whether the company’s dominance in the ticketing industry led to its spectacular breakdown last year during a sale of Taylor Swift concert tickets.
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, recalled piling into a friend’s car in high school to go to concerts by Led Zeppelin, The Cars and Aerosmith. These days, she said, ticket prices and fees have gotten so high that shows are too expensive for many fans. Klobuchar said ticket fees now average 27% of the ticket cost, and can climb as high as 75%.
Klobuchar said Ticketmaster’s market dominance means it faces little pressure to innovate and improve.
“To have a strong capitalist system, you have to have competition,“ Klobuchar said in a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committe.
