Taylor Swift’s promoter AEG Presents blamed Ticketmaster on Tuesday for botching the star’s “Eras” tour ticket sale amid a slew of criticism headed its way, CNBC reported.
In a statement provided to the network, AEG rejected claims by Ticketmaster’s parent company Live Nation, which said that the promoter voluntarily collaborated with the ticketing site.
“Ticketmaster’s exclusive deals with the vast majority of venues on the ‘Eras’ tour required us to ticket through their system,” AEG argued. “We didn’t have a choice.”
The development is the latest fallout from the crashing of Ticketmaster in the wake of “Eras” tickets going live, leading to a substantial delay in sales for the tour.
But Live Nation received its share of criticism before the event for allegations of anti-competitive practices through Ticketmaster, which controls 70% of ticketing sales for live events.
The Justice Department reportedly answered activists’ calls last week, opening an antitrust investigation into the multibillion-dollar giant, according to The New York Times.
“Live Nation takes its responsibilities under the antitrust laws seriously and does not engage in behaviors that could justify antitrust litigation, let alone orders that would require it to alter fundamental business practices,” Live Nation stated Saturday.
“Ticketmaster has a significant share of the primary ticketing services market because of the large gap that exists between the quality of the Ticketmaster system and the next best primary ticketing system,” the statement added.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.