K-pop sensation BTS was recently mentioned during US Senate hearings.
On January 24, the United States Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing against the ticket company Ticketmaster.
The recent debacle of people trying to purchase tickets for Taylor Swift’s upcoming concert tour shone a spotlight on Ticketmaster, highlighting the lack of competition in the ticketing industry and the fact that Ticketmaster essentially runs everything.
During the hearing, the senior United States senator from Minnesota mentioned BTS. She stated, “From Taylor Swift to Springsteen to BTS, the lack of competition in the ticketing industry causes problems for fans and artists alike.” She also stated, “The high fees, site disruptions and cancellations that customers experienced shows how Ticketmaster’s dominant market position means the company does not face any pressure to continually innovate and improve… When there is no competition to incentivize better services and fair prices, we all suffer the consequences.”
From Taylor Swift to Springsteen to BTS, the lack of competition in the ticketing industry causes problems for fans and artists alike. We’re holding a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee on these issues to find solutions. Tune in: https://t.co/r0KdeZTEbQ
— Senator Amy Klobuchar (@SenAmyKlobuchar) January 24, 2023
At Live Nation hearing. As I noted, the lack of competition in ticketing & high prices are issues that fans know “all too well.”
It goes beyond Taylor Swift fans..ask fans of Bad Bunny, BTS, Harry Styles & Springsteen.
Answer? Antitrust enforcement & stronger consumer laws.
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) January 24, 2023
Judiciary Chairman @SenatorDurbin greets singer songwriter Clyde Lawrence before today’s Ticketmaster competition hearing, which just kicked off pic.twitter.com/q0KPxq6LiI
— Scott Wong (@scottwongDC) January 24, 2023
At the hearing, she named Taylor Swift, BTS, Bruce Springsteen, and Bad Bunny as artists whose fans are affected by Ticketmaster’s poor management and lack of transparency.
Although Ticketmaster has apologized to customers, as of now, it’s unclear how or when current practices will change for the better.
An Upcoming Investigation Into Ticketmaster And Live Nation Could Affect K-Pop Concert Ticket Sales
Ticketing for concerts has always been extremely stressful, somewhat in part because of Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation, and K-Pop shows have not been an exception. However, following major failures from Ticketmaster during the sale of American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift‘s upcoming tour, the Justice Department of the United States has opened an investigation that may affect the way fans buy concert tickets forever.
Ticketmaster has often been considered the enemy of all hopeful concert attendees. In the past, K-Pop fans have directly had issues with the ticketing giant, especially dealing with BTS‘s PERMISSION TO DANCE ON STAGE concerts.
Of the issues, the most prevalent was the number of scalpers that were able to purchase tickets for the event and resell tickets for massive prices.
Fans were able to find Ticketmaster’s Terms And Conditions for purchasing tickets and discovered that not only were they not enforcing their own rules, but they were also profiting from scalpers reselling tickets. These tickets sold that went against the terms included high fees paid to Ticketmaster for reselling.
It’s literally in the terms and conditions of the Bts tickets that you can’t resell for more than face value unless you have written consent????? So @Ticketmaster @TMFanSupport did you give all of these scalpers written permission to charge fans $700+ for tickets that were $60?? pic.twitter.com/cmR33GtxYj
— 로렌⁷ 💜 (@bangswifties) October 13, 2021
Ticketmaster and Live Nation have been able to do almost anything regarding ticket sales because of the monopoly control they have over both venues and any artists that would like to perform live.
According to The New York Times, when Ticketmaster and Live Nation merged in 2010, it was requested that Live Nation sell some parts of its business. The Justice Department also forbade Live Nation from threatening concert venues with losing access to tours for using other ticketing providers. This agreement was supposed to last until 2020, but in 2019 it was found that Live Nation did not follow the boundaries set, and the agreement was extended until 2025.
If Live Nation is found to be in violation of these terms yet again, action could be taken to break up some of the hold the company has over the live music industry and in turn directly affect concert ticket sales. For one, Ticketmaster no longer being the primary ticket outlet could lead to many of the extra fees and charges on concert tickets disappearing, something US President Biden has promised to work towards.
Ticketmaster’s scam fees now cost as much as 78% of a ticket. The company controls the events, the venues, even the artists and it’s destroying live music.
Today, Joe Biden announced he will crack down on outrageous processing fees, like the ones on concert tickets. pic.twitter.com/bjna35TY8q
— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) October 26, 2022
Next, this would likely trigger an investigation into ticket resellers who have connections to Ticketmaster and address rumors of special and/or access for scalpers who seem to have tickets before the event has even gone on sale. In addition, the usage of bots for ticketing would likely be monitored much more.
Can someone explain how people are selling tickets on stubhub for a show that hasn't sold a single ticket? JYP should make a pre-sale for the actual Stays… Half of the tickets for the first Stray Kids encore LA Show were bought by scalpers and the same is gonna happen for day 2 pic.twitter.com/Meq1gW7NOI
— Nastya Chizova🌱 (@NastyaChizova) November 14, 2022
Finally, this would allow artists and venues much more freedom in touring schedules and ticket pricing without the ticketing source fueling certain options. Rock band Pearl Jam has spoken out for nearly three decades about Ticketmaster’s control over the industry following a difficult 14-month boycott in 1995.
With this investigation, hopefully, some of the major issues with ticketing will be solved and all concert-goers, including K-Pop fans, will be able to enjoy shows without paying astronomical amounts for tickets, as well as giving control back to the musicians.