Ticketmaster's pre-sale for the Kendrick Lamar and SZA 'Grand National Tour' has sparked widespread criticism from fans, highlighting ongoing issues with the ticketing giant's practices.

Fans report multiple issues with the pre-sale process:

• Extended wait times and queue problems
• High service fees (some reaching $60 on $159 tickets)
• Expensive pricing ($350 for nosebleed seats)
• Concerns about broker preferential treatment

While Ticketmaster denies prioritizing brokers, claiming significant investment in anti-scalping technology, the company faces serious legal challenges:

The U.S. Department of Justice, joined by several state attorneys general, is suing Live Nation and Ticketmaster over alleged anticompetitive practices, including:

• Forcing venues into exclusive ticketing agreements
• Implementing restrictive promotional services contracts
• Retaliating against companies attempting to enter the market

A notable case involves a former Ticketmaster executive who pleaded guilty to hacking a competitor's platform. The executive:

• Retained 85,000 confidential documents from Songkick
• Shared trade secrets after joining TicketWeb (a Ticketmaster subsidiary)
• Helped Ticketmaster refine its artist platform using competitor information

This latest pre-sale controversy adds to mounting pressure on the Live Nation/Ticketmaster merger, which the DOJ now seeks to dissolve, citing harm to fans, artists, smaller promoters, and venue operators.

Related Articles

Previous Articles