The Times podcast: Will Swifties take down Ticketmaster? - Los Angeles Times
Advertisement

The Times podcast: Will Swifties take down Ticketmaster?

Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift set a record for the most tickets ever sold in a single day on Nov. 15, 2022.
(John Shearer / Getty Images for DirecTV)
Share via

After Ticketmaster botched sales for Taylor Swift’s upcoming concert tour, her die-hard fans, known as Swifties, did more than just whine on social media. They took political action, calling their representatives in Congress and flagging their concerns to other lawmakers across the country. Some Swifties even filed a lawsuit.

This is far from the first time Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, have been accused of unfairly monopolizing the ticket market. And after another debacle last week that left Bad Bunny fans stranded outside his sold-out concert in Mexico City, it’s clear it won’t be the last time either.

Advertisement

Today, we look at whether the latest backlash is big enough to finally break Ticketmaster’s stranglehold on the live music market.

Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times reporter August Brown and Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.

More reading:

Advertisement

More bad news for Swifties: Ticketmaster cancels Friday on-sale for Taylor’s Eras tour

You better lawyer up, Ticketmaster: Taylor Swift fans file Eras Tour lawsuit

Essential Politics: Will Taylor Swift end Ticketmaster’s dominance?

About The Times

“The Times” is produced by Shannon Lin, Denise Guerra, Kasia Broussalian, David Toledo and Ashlea Brown. Our editorial assistants are Roberto Reyes and Nicolas Perez. Our engineers are Mario Diaz, Mark Nieto and Mike Heflin. Our editor is Kinsee Morlan. Our executive producers are Jazmin Aguilera, Heba Elorbany and Shani Hilton. And our theme music is by Andrew Eapen.

About this story

Advertisement