ticketmaster

President Joe Biden Pushed Back Against Those Pesky Concert ‘Junk Fees’ In His State Of The Union Speech

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President Joe Biden continued his push back against airlines, concert promoters, and other companies that embed “junk fees” into their service as he expressed his intentions for proposed legislation during last night’s (February 7) State Of The Union address.

Biden’s plan for the Junk Fee Prevention Act would also include extra resort fees, credit card late fees, and any other hidden charges toward customers — no matter what industry.

“For example, we’re making airlines show you the full ticket price upfront and refund your money if your flight is canceled or delayed,” Biden said. “Baggage fees are bad enough — they can’t just treat your child like a piece of luggage. Americans are tired of being played for suckers.”

On February 1, he also tweeted, “You shouldn’t have to pay an extra $50 to sit next to your child on the plane, pay a surprise ‘resort fee’ for a hotel stay, pay $200 to terminate your cable plan, or pay huge service fees to buy concert tickets. It’s time for Congress to pass the Junk Fee Prevention Act.”

Back in October, the White House released a statement that defined junk fees as “mandatory fees that often hide the full price” and “surprise fees that consumers learn about after purchase.” This would include those pesky service fees that companies like Ticketmaster tack on to your ticket at checkout.

“These fees can also create an uneven playing field for businesses, making firms that price in a fair and transparent manner seem more expensive than their rivals,” it read.

This continued discussion comes after months of debate over Ticketmaster’s monopoly and fans having more trouble than ever getting tickets for Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, and other popular acts.

The Senate Judiciary Committee Issued A Warning To Ticketmaster Ahead Of The Pre-Sale For Beyoncé’s Tour

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Beyoncé‘s Renaissance World Tour is set to kick off this spring, and you can believe that the Beyhive already has strategic plans in place to get their tickets. While the pre-sales have not officially begun yet, many fans are still shaken up after last November’s Ticketmaster fiasco that took place during the pre-sale for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.

Several Swifties waited in Ticketmaster’s virtual waiting room for hours on the day of the virtual pre-sale, but many didn’t get their tickets, as the website kept glitching, and the rules for accessing the pre-sale were rather vague. Since then the United States Congress has held a hearing regarding Ticketmaster and their questionable practices.

The first of two pre-sales for the Renaissance World Tour will begin Tuesday, February 7, with the second taking place the following Tuesday, February 14. With the pre-sale imminent, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have issued a warning to Ticketmaster.

“We’re watching,” read a tweet from the Senate Judiciary Committee’s official Twitter account.

But hopefully, this pre-sale won’t break any of the Beyhiver’s souls. Ahead of the pre-sale, Ticketmaster issued a notice, revealing that they have changed some of their policies and processes.

“Demand for this tour is expected to be high,” read the statement. “If there is more demand than there are tickets available, a lottery-style selection process will determine which registered Verified Fans get a unique access code and which are placed on the waitlist. A Verified Fan access code does not guarantee tickets, it just gives you access to join the sale. All tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. If tickets remain, the lottery-style process will be used to invite more Verified Fans from the waitlist to join the sale.”

After Botching Taylor Swift’s Ticket Sales, Ticketmaster Is Changing Its Policies For Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ Tour

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In terms of public opinion, Ticketmaster is perhaps at an all-time low right now. Zach Bryan recently released an album called All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster. Taylor Swift was infuriated after her The Eras Tour onsale through Ticketmaster went remarkably poorly. They just botched a John Mayer ticket sale, too. On top of all that, Congress is currently looking into them.

All this has Beyoncé fans worried: She just announced her long-awaited Renaissance tour and tickets are being sold through Ticketmaster. Apparently, though, the company is changing some things in an effort to avoid a repeat of the Swift fiasco.

As KTLA notes, the steps Ticketmaster is taking with the Renaissance tour includes staggering the on-sale dates for various venues and using membership systems like Verified Fan.

Ticketmaster shared a blog post with more detailed information about how to get Renaissance tickets. It explains in part, “Demand for this tour is expected to be high. If there is more demand than there are tickets available, a lottery-style selection process will determine which registered Verified Fans get a unique access code and which are placed on the waitlist. A Verified Fan access code does not guarantee tickets, it just gives you access to join the sale. All tickets will be sold on a first come, first served basis. If tickets remain, the lottery-style process will be used to invite more Verified Fans from the waitlist to join the sale.”

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Young Guru Gives PSA About Beyoncé Tour Tickets

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Young Guru took to Instagram to remind people that he doesn’t have access to tickets to Beyoncé’s upcoming tour. “Listen I work for Jay-Z,” he wrote on his Instagram story on a black screen. “I do not have Beyoncé tickets!” While it might seem funny at first glance, he already received plenty of messages, most likely. After all, given the recent Ticketmaster fiasco for Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny’s tours, it should be really hard to witness the Queen. Still, as reactions to her tour announcement went viral online, just as many people gave up hope.

“Not even Hov got tickets,” one defeated commenter wrote. However, a lot of people commenting on coverage of Guru’s post don’t believe him. “Jay-Z is the best plug Young Guru could have, to getting Beyonce tickets though,” another fan wrote. “Stop the [cap emoji].” Meanwhile, others joked about how this sort of thing is common for industry vets. “Lmao His Dm went haywire,” a commenter posted. “I know Hov left every group chat he was in once the tour was announced.” While many spoke pessimistically of their chances to get tickets, some are still on their grind. “Nah n***a you got them tickets, where they at?” a user demanded. “Run me two tickets…. Just two.”

WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 26: Gimel ‘Young Guru’ Keaton serves as panelist for the Real Talk Drives Real Change Tour at Lincoln Theatre on June 26, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brian Stukes/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, the RENAISSANCE tour’s announcement arrived shortly after Beyoncé’s private Dubai show, which reportedly netted her $45 million. With such spectacle in mind, it’s no wonder that the star producer would find it harder to nab tickets. Regardless, fans all over the world will be able to experience RENAISSANCE live, starting with her European leg. Moreover, the tour starts in Stockholm, Sweden and move to Paris, Amsterdam, and beyond. Then, her North America tour begins in Toronto and will travel across major U.S. cities.

Still, what do you think of Young Guru posting a PSA-like message that he doesn’t have Beyoncé tour tickets? Whatever the case, let us know in the comments down below and share your strategy to nab seats. Also, as always, stay tuned to HNHH for the latest news on Beyoncé, her tour, and her artistry.

U.S. Senate Addresses Ticketmaster In Hearing After Taylor Swift Debacle

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A United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee convened on Tuesday to discuss Ticketmaster and its hold over the ticket sales industry. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee took lead on the investigation which asked questions about ticket sales, monopolization, resale markets, and more.

“To have a strong capitalist system, you have to have competition,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar said. “You can’t have too much consolidation — something that, unfortunately for this country, as an ode to Taylor Swift, I will say, we know ‘all too well.’”

WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 27: Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, speaks during a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee confirmation hearing for Denis McDonough, U.S. secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) nominee for U.S. President Joe Biden, on January 27, 2021 in Washington, D.C. As Barack Obama’s chief of staff, McDonough oversaw the VAs overhaul in response to its 2014 wait-time scandal and previously served as a deputy national security adviser. (Photo Sarah Silbiger-Pool/Getty Images)

Sen. Richard Blumenthal told Live Nation’s CFO, “Ticketmaster ought to look in the mirror, and say, ‘I’m the problem, it’s me’”

Criticism of Ticketmaster and Live Nation came from both sides of the aisle.

“I am not against big, per say. I am against dumb,” Republican Sen. John Kennedy told a Live Nation executive. “The way your company handled ticket sales for Ms. Swift was a debacle.”

Senators have mentioned a number of ticket sales for high-profile musicians during the hearing. Among them are Bruce Springsteen, Bruno Mars, Prince, Bad Bunny, Madonna, and more.

Perhaps the most important name mentioned was Taylor Swift. It was the complete failure of Ticketmaster to handle the sales of her Eras Tour that inspired the Senate investigation.

“The solutions are there for the taking,” Klobuchar said near the end of the hearing.

[Via]

Miffed Swifties Can Tune Into The Ticketmaster Senate Hearing Via Livestream This Week

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The Senate Committee on the Judiciary hearing regarding Ticketmaster and its presumed monopoly on live entertainment ticketing has been set for Tuesday, January 24, 2023, and will live stream at 10:00 am ET.

Ticketmaster has come under scrutiny within the past several months as the comeback of several marquee artists at once highlighted the ticketing platform’s frustrating policies. With Bruce Springsteen tickets reselling for upwards of $5,000 in July and Taylor Swift fans practically crashing the site in November, authorities now have plenty of questions for Ticketmaster’s leadership.

The situation with Swift’s tickets got so bad, Ticketmaster was forced to cancel the general sale of her The Eras Tour tickets, prompting the singer’s fury and sparking a general outcry against it from the likes of Springsteen, Swift collaborator Jack Antonoff, and country star Zach Bryan.

In response, Swifties filed not just one but two class action lawsuits alleging misleading business practices, arguing the company “intentionally and purposefully misled millions of fans into believing it would prevent bots and scalpers from participating in the presales,” but instead allowed “14 million unverified Ticketmaster users and a ‘staggering’ number of bots to participate in the presales.”

Meanwhile, Ticketmaster was fined in Mexico for allegedly ruining a Bad Bunny concert by overselling the venue, although Ticketmaster claimed the problem was fake tickets, not its practices.

You can watch the live stream here.

Here Are All The Music Fan Bases That Hate Ticketmaster Right Now

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Ticketmaster is not having the most pleasant run this holiday season. While they’ve very publically endured the wrath of the Swifties, who have filed two lawsuits since the disastrous pre-sale for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, several other fanbases have jumped on the “Ticketmaster is cancelled” train.

Earlier this month, Bad Bunny fans in Mexico were distraught to find that Ticketmaster had allegedly sold them fake tickets through their official sales outlets, resulting in them being turned away at the entry point.

The sales for Death Grips’ upcoming tour, their first in four years, were also handled by Ticketmaster. But like the presale for Swift’s upcoming tour, several fans alleged that many of the Death Grips presale tickets went to bots and resalers.

Tickets for Bruce Springsteen And The E-Street Band’s were going for over $5,000 in some cities. While Springsteen defended the prices, he promised fans who weren’t satisfied on the way out of the tour that they could have their money back.

Some of the issues fans have been having with Ticketmaster date back to last year, when Olivia Rodrigo fans were unable to purchase tickets for her Sour tour due to technical difficulties.

But these recurring issues have fans nervous going forward. Recently, tickets for SZA’s SOS tour with Omar Apollo proved to be rather pricey. And although Beyoncé has yet to formally announce her Renaissance tour, the prices for SZA tickets prompted fans to start saving, so they can be ready for when Bey finally does make the announcement.

As a late Christmas gift, country singer Zach Bryan decided to give the gift of live music to his fans, so they wouldn’t have to pay Ticketmaster prices. The album is appropriately titled, All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster.

Some of the artists mentioned are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Another Day, Another Ticketmaster Disaster: Hundreds of Bad Bunny Ticketholders Denied Entry in Mexico City

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Ticketmaster is in hot water again following its botched sale of Taylor Swift tickets last month, which generated lawsuits and widespread outrage.  This past weekend, many hundreds of concertgoers with legitimate tickets were turned away from a Bad Bunny concert in Mexico City, leading to widespread confusion at the venue and delaying the show by an hour.

Ticketmaster later issued a statement claiming an “unprecedented” number of people were sold fake tickets to the show, leading to “unusual overcrowding,” “confusion” among personnel, and the “intermittent operation” of its systems.   As a result, hundreds of people with genuine tickets were denied entry.  Ticketmaster has denied that it oversold tickets to the show.

Social media images of the concert show large swaths of empty seats in the Estadio Azteca for what was reported to be a sold-out show.  Mexico’s Federal Attorney’s Office for Consumers (PROFECO) reported that it had already received 1,600 complaints from angry ticketholders and that it had determined that many of the tickets that Ticketmaster had claimed were false, in fact, legitimate.  PROFECO has announced that Ticketmaster will be required to reimburse fans for the price of tickets they were prohibited from using, plus an additional 20% of the ticket price, and may also be forced to pay a fine of up to 10% of its 2021 earnings.

Mexico’s quick action is in sharp contrast to the sluggish investigations of U.S. lawmakers and regulators under similar circumstances.

In his daily news conference, Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, called on Bad Bunny to play a free concert in Mexico City’s Zócalo plaza.  Bad Bunny has not offered any social media comment on this request or the ticketing issues at his show.

The post Another Day, Another Ticketmaster Disaster: Hundreds of Bad Bunny Ticketholders Denied Entry in Mexico City appeared first on The Source.

Ticketmaster May Face Millions In Fines Following Bad Bunny Concert Backlash

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Hundred of fans were disappointed to learn that they were denied entry to Bad Bunny’s Mexico City concert over the weekend. After Ticketmaster blamed the issue on an “unprecedented number of fake tickets,” the brand is now looking at millions of dollars in fines.

According to Variety, director of the Federal Attorney’s Office for Consumers in Mexico (PROFECO) Ricardo Sheffield recently revealed that there have been around 1,600 requests for refunds.

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – MARCH 10: Bad Bunny performs as part of “X100Pre Tour” at Coliseo Jose M. Agrelot on March 10, 2019 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Photo by Gladys Vega/Getty Images)

He also confirmed that the ticket cancellations were not a result of “counterfeit,” but an “oversell” of tickets by Ticketmaster.

Sheffield reportedly suggested that the company issue fans a 100% refund with an added “20% compensation.” On the fine that Ticketmaster could soon face, he revealed that it could total a maximum of 10% of their 2021 earnings.

Stating that the fine is “to be determined [in] the following week,” he emphasized, “It is a very serious situation, quite delicate.”

READ MORE: Los Angeles Honors Bad Bunny With His Own Day

Bad Bunny ended his global World’s Hottest Tour in Mexico City last Friday night (Dec. 9) with fewer concertgoers than expected.

Releasing a statement shortly after, Ticketmaster stated that “the issues with access were the result of an unprecedented number of fake tickets, which led to a not normal agglomeration of people and an intermittent operation of our system.”

“The above generated confusion and complicated the entrance to the stadium,” the statement continued, “with the unfortunate consequence that people with legitimate tickets were denied access.”

Ticketmaster similarly faced backlash last month after Taylor Swift announced her highly-anticipated Eras Tour. The company issued an apology after their website crashed amid the concert’s pre-sale. 

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – SEPTEMBER 20: NSAI Songwriter-Artist of the Decade honoree, Taylor Swift performs onstage during NSAI 2022 Nashville Songwriter Awards at Ryman Auditorium on September 20, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images)

Ticketmaster then canceled their general admission ticket sales, admitting in a statement that they experienced “extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand.”

The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced an investigation into Live Nation, Ticketmaster’s parent company, with plans to discover if it “has abused its power over the multibillion-dollar live music industry.”

[Via]

Mexico Is Fining Ticketmaster After Bad Bunny Ticketholders Were Denied Entry Into His Mexico Shows

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Over the course of the past weekend, several Bad Bunny fans in Mexico City were turned away from his two shows that were being held that past weekend. Over 1,600 fans were denied entry on Friday (December 9) and over 100 on Saturday (December 10), despite the fact that they were holding tickets. Following the events, Mexico’s Federal Attorney’s Office For Consumers (PROFECO) has launched an investigation.

The head of PROFECO, Ricardo Sheffield spoke to Radio Formula about the denial of entry to fans

“As we are a fiscal authority, if they don’t want to pay of their own will, we will seize their accounts then, and they will pay because they have to,” said Sheffield.

Sheffield noted that PROFECO will require Ticketmaster to reimburse fans for the tickets purchased, as well as provide them with an additional 20 percent. He also shared that the company will be ordered to pay a fine to the city, which would match 10 percent of their 2021 earnings.

Ticketmaster Mexico has taken to social media, claiming that the fans were turned away at entry not due to an oversell of tickets, but because the tickets were counterfeits. PROFECO has conducted an investigation, which concluded that the fans had purchased the tickets through legitimate channels.