The Ticketmaster-Taylor Swift saga has taken a new twist as Swift fans in 13 states have now filed an official lawsuit against the ticketing giant over a range of issues experienced in last month’s mishandled Eras Tour presale.
A complaint was filed on Friday, December 2 in Los Angeles County where the headquarters of Ticketmaster parent company Live Nation reside. Named in the lawsuit are 26 plaintiffs from various areas across the U.S. who claim Ticketmaster participated in fraudulent and anticompetitive measures during the Eras Tour presale on November 15 and 16 that impacted “millions of fans [who] waited up to eight hours and were unable to purchase tickets.”
In particular, the lawsuit takes issue with Ticketmaster’s exclusivity with artists for concert ticket sales, the company’s “intentionally and purposefully mislead[ing]” use of bots and scalpers and pushing fans to a resale market with ticket markups that are above competitive market prices “for the purpose of obtaining service fees and profits.” The lawsuit further alleges Ticketmaster and Live Nation have participated in activities that violate California’s Cartwright Act and the California Unfair Competition Law.
The plaintiffs are seeking to recoup penalties and damages at a cost of $2,500 per violation. You can read a copy of the full lawsuit here, as obtained by Deadline.
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As a result of the snafus experienced in the Eras Tour presale, Ticketmaster canceled the general public onsale that was set for Nov. 18 with the company blaming “extraordinarily high demand” for the debacle. In total, 2.4 million ticket transactions were processed, with Ticketmaster noting that was an all-time record for sales for any artist in a single day.
Swift also issued a statement on her social media accounts Nov. 18, blaming the company, stating, “It’s really difficult for me to trust an outside entity with these relationships and loyalties, and excruciating for me to just watch mistakes happen with no recourse.”
As a result of the uproar, multiple Congresspeople have implored the Federal Trade Commission to look into the rise of ticket bots and several Senators have urged the U.S. Department of Justice to hold Ticketmaster and Live Nation Entertainment accountable for “failing consumers.” It’s been reported that the DOJ has opened an investigation to look into possible antitrust violations.
Ticketmaster and Live Nation have not yet responded to the fan lawsuit.
