US Senators Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee – Chairwoman and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust and Consumer Rights – have revealed that the hearing on the lack of competition within the ticketing industry will be held on January 24.
The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing will be titled ‘That’s The Ticket: Promoting Competition and Protecting Consumers in Live Entertainment’.
It will be held before the full Senate Judiciary Committee with Chair Dick Durbin and incoming Ranking Member Lindsey Graham.
Klobuchar said in a statement on social media: “Americans have faced high fees, waits and a lack of transparency when buying tickets for everything from Springsteen to Taylor Swift. Next week, I’m holding a hearing with Senators Lee, Durbin and Graham to examine problems due to a lack of competition in ticketing markets.”
The hearing is being held after issues plagued a Taylor Swift pre-sale last year with Ticketmaster being forced to cancel the general on-sale.
Ticketmaster’s platform was bombarded by millions of fans attempting to purchase tickets for the singer’s Eras tour.
After cancelling the general on-sale due to low inventory, Ticketmaster sold the remainder of the tickets through its Ticketstoday platform, which still operated the Verified Fan system.