Taylor Swift fans hold rally as they take Ticketmaster to court in DTLA over monopoly accusations
By Leanne Suter and Sophie Flay
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LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Taylor Swift fans took Ticketmaster to court in downtown Los Angeles on Monday, accusing the company of intentionally misleading them when the star released tickets for her “Eras” tour in November.
About 300 “Swifties” allege that the company engaged in fraud, price-fixing and antitrust violations. The lawsuit claims Ticketmaster intentionally charged sky high fees and sold their tickets to scalpers.
The singer is also frustrated by the fiasco, in which many of her fans experienced delays or were prevented from getting tickets to her “Eras” tour during the presale on Ticketmaster, promising she’s trying to figure out how the situation can be improved in the future.
Those suing Ticketmaster claim the company is a monopoly – owning 70% of the market – and that they feel the company takes advantage of fans who want to go see their favorite singers in concert.
“I would love to hit them where it hurts, but all they do is pay the fines and then they pay the fines again because they make enough money to keep paying the fines,” said Laura Watson, a plaintiff. “I would love to see them regulated and to see how and who they can resell to.”
“They have a system they put together that plays on the fans, and it’s taking advantage of us really,” said Julie Barfuss, the lead plaintiff.
The incident involving the launch of tickets to see Taylor Swift’s tour got even the attention of Congress, who called in the president and CFO of Live Nation, who owns Ticketmaster, for a hearing.
“We apologize to the fans. We apologize to Ms. Swift. We need to do better and we will do better,” said Joe Berchtold at the hearing.
In addition to the court hearing Monday, the Swifties planned held a rally outside the courthouse. The event Monday comes after the group held a dance party in West Hollywood Friday night.
And, it is not only angry Taylor Swift fans Ticketmaster will have to see in court.
Drake fans are also filing a separate lawsuit against the company in Canada for alleged price fixing there.
The lawsuit claims that the ticketing giant knew the Canadian artist would perform two concerts in Montreal, but kept that quiet to boost demand.
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