Break Up Ticketmaster’s Live Entertainment Monopoly

Target: Merrick Garland, U.S. Attorney-General

Goal: Enforce laws regarding potential anti-trust violations by Ticketmaster.

The day Taylor Swift broke the internet was also a day of reckoning for a major ticketing organization long labeled a monopoly. The latest chaos for Ticketmaster centers around the time a presale took place for the pop star’s national concert tour. Fans eager to get their opportunity to see Swift perform in person were quickly met with site crashes, wait times that dragged for hours, and in many cases disappointment. This disappointment was compounded when a planned ticket sale to the general public was later cancelled, leaving millions of devoted fans out in the cold.

Frustrated consumers soon directed their ire at Ticketmaster, which is not new to criticism or controversy. When the organization merged with Live Nation Entertainment over a decade ago, it created a virtual monopoly on concert ticket sales, with a bevy of venues signing exclusivity contracts with the conglomerate. The then-merger sparked a Department of Justice (DOJ) anti-trust investigation that was dropped on the condition that Ticketmaster meet certain regulations that proved it was not harming consumers. A debacle even before this merger involved the music group Pearl Jam taking legal action against the company because monopolistic conditions were hurting their bottom line and experiences of fans.

Despite promises to the contrary, Ticketmaster consumers still report price-gouging, horrid customer service, and other problems that a monopoly can force upon the public because it has no competition. The DOJ will reportedly take another crack at an investigation after numerous and repeated calls for accountability. Sign the petition below to urge them to take decisive action this time for the sake of consumers.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Attorney-General Garland,

Potential violation of anti-trust laws is a well-worn path for Ticketmaster. The latest debacle is only the most high-profile example of an experience millions of consumers seem to consider miserable and even predatory. The DOJ has already had a bite at this apple once before and failed to exercise the needed authority.

Please act in better faith now and enforce your own policies on behalf of American consumers already under tremendous stress.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: Jana Zills