
There’s something about Taylor Swift and breakups.
Activists and lawmakers are renewing calls to split Ticketmaster and Live Nation after a fiasco over ticket sales for the pop superstar’s upcoming “Eras” tour, which is slated to kick off in March.
Live Nation, which merged with Ticketmaster in 2010, has faced longstanding criticisms about its size and power in the entertainment industry. People amplified their complaints this week when tickets for Swift tickets went on presale on Ticketmaster’s website. The company was forced to extend presales after fans flocked to the site, causing site disruptions and slow queues.
Ticket buyers immediately turned to social media to complain after the website appeared to crash or freeze during purchases, leaving many unable to get tickets for the show. Some users were shown an error page stating, “We’re sorry! Something went wrong on our end and we need to start over. Broken things are a drag — our team is on it so it doesn’t happen again.”
Lawmakers are also calling on the Justice Department to investigate the company.