Senate grills seller after Taylor Swift ticket fiasco

Senators grilled Ticketmaster on 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.

Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee also debated possible action, including making tickets non-transferable to cut down on scalping and requiring more transparency in ticket fees. Some suggested it may also be necessary to split Ticketmaster and Beverly Hills, California-based concert promoter Live Nation, which merged in 2010.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn, said ticket prices and fees have gotten so high that shows are too expensive for many fans. Klobuchar said ticket fees average 27% of the ticket cost, and can climb as high as 75%.

Ticketmaster is the world’s largest ticket seller, processing 500 million tickets each year in more than 30 countries. Around 70% of tickets for major concert venues in the U.S. are sold through Ticketmaster, according to data in a federal lawsuit filed by consumers last year.

In mid-November, Ticketmaster’s site crashed during a pre-sale event for Swift’s upcoming stadium tour. The company said its site was overwhelmed by both fans and bot attacks. Many people lost tickets after waiting hours in an online queue.

Joe Berchtold, president of Live Nation, Ticketmaster’s parent company, said the company knows it must do better.

But Berchtold insisted that Ticketmaster doesn’t set prices or service fees for tickets or decide how many tickets will go on sale. Service fees are set by venues, he said; Live Nation only owns around 5% of U.S. venues, he noted. He also said the industry should be more transparent about pricing and fees.