The Senate Judiciary Committee made headlines in the entertainment world Thursday, after issuing a cryptic, two-word warning to Ticketmaster regarding the sale and distribution of tickets for singer Beyoncé's upcoming world tour.
Earlier in the day, the @CNNThisMorning account tweeted out the following notice: "Beyoncé announces her world tour and the #Beyhive prepares for another potential @Ticketmaster meltdown following the Taylor Swift Eras Tour disaster."
That prompted the judiciary committee's Twitter account — which bears the @JudiciaryDems handle — to respond to CNN, saying, "We're watching, @Ticketmaster."
According to Rolling Stone magazine, the ticket demand for Beyoncé's tour could meet or exceed the hysteria surrounding Taylor Swift's current musical tour.
If true, Senate Democrats and Republicans might be tracking next week's ticket-buying and distribution markets for Beyoncé's tour — especially the pre-sale tickets.
Rolling Stone reports that Beyoncé concert listings are already as high as $3,000 for a single ticket, even if the ticket vendors "don't have" the passes yet.
"Some of the best seats for Beyoncé's So-Fi Stadium show in Los Angeles in September are speculatively selling for $3,064 per ticket on VividSeats. The cheapest nosebleeds were listed at $570," writes Rolling Stone.
And for Beyoncé's July 29-30 shows at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, "some nosebleed seats were listed at over $600, with some lower bowl seats going for over $1,800 each," added the publication.
The Taylor Swift ticket snafu occurred during the pre-sale process. Ticketmaster's system reportedly melted down during that time, preventing thousands of program-eligible Swift fans from buying advance tickets.
Consequently, several Swift fans reportedly filed lawsuits against Ticketmaster, claiming a breach of antitrust laws.
This motivated the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold a hearing last month and investigate the "lack of competition" in the ticketing industry, according to The Hill.
Earlier this week, Ticketmaster told a select Senate committee the pre-sale process for Swift concerts had been disrupted by record bot traffic.
"In hindsight, there are several things we could have done better — including staggering the sales over a longer period of time and doing a better job setting fan expectations for getting tickets," Live Nation Entertainment President and Chief Financial Officer Joe Berchtold stated in written testimony.
In addition to the Senate's concerns, Ticketmaster has recently come under fire with the general public, who's accusing the event giant of having too much power over concert tickets and venue selection.
"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," Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said recently.
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