During a recent Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Technology, and Data Privacy hearing, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) questioned Live Nation Entertainment representative Dan Wall about allegations that Ticketmaster has not enforced ticket purchasing limits to prevent scalping. The hearing also included testimony from entertainer Robert Ritchie, known as "Kid Rock," who discussed how current ticketing practices may disadvantage artists and fans.
Senator Blackburn highlighted the concerns of consumers in her state regarding the ticket sales process. She stated, "If you were to ask any of my fellow Tennesseans what's wrong with ticketing today, they will not hesitate to tell you that the system feels rigged against them… They watch the tickets vanish in seconds, and they come back on the secondary markets at three or four times the price."
She further commented on consumer frustration: "Fans are not angry about the fact that tickets are popular and that events are popular… What they're mad as hell about is that the system is stacked against them. The ticket industry should desire to do better."
Addressing Mr. Wall directly, Senator Blackburn referenced an FTC complaint alleging that Ticketmaster executives were aware of scalpers violating purchase limits. She said, "[Mr. Wall], in the FTC’s complaint, executives at Ticketmaster knew that scalpers were violating the ticket purchasing limits… It was a big inside joke that you all knew this, but you were allowing it to happen. Your C-Suite knew of this. One of your executives even wrote in an email that we have stating that you, and I'm quoting, ‘turn a blind eye as a matter of policy.’"
In response to questions about technological safeguards against automated purchases by bots and speculative or ghost tickets sold online, Mr. Wall stated: "…Our bot defenses are second to none in the world…" However, Senator Blackburn replied: "They’re obviously not up to par. You’ve got bots still getting through, and you’ve got scalpers that are still scooping up these tickets."
When asked if Ticketmaster accepts responsibility when fans encounter speculative or ghost tickets, Mr. Wall said: "Never, because we do not allow those on Ticketmaster…" Senator Blackburn responded: "But it’s happening."
The hearing is part of ongoing congressional scrutiny into consumer protection issues related to live event ticket sales.
