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willstr1 t1_j5ow7pt wrote

It would be absolutely iconic if Swift, the queen of breakup songs, ends up being the one to breakup the Ticketmaster monopoly

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the_blessed_unrest t1_j5pc0c1 wrote

Idk, is there a financial incentive for her to break it up? I can’t see her caring (like, truly caring, not just making empty statements) otherwise

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willstr1 t1_j5phh90 wrote

She doesn't necessarily need to care, but the Ticketmaster snafu that screwed over her fans is why we are finally seeing action against the monopoly.

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woakula t1_j5phpy3 wrote

as a non concert goer I've never heard anything good about ticketmaster. As far as I can tell while it wouldn't help her financially, it would cement her reputation kind of like a David versus Goliath situation. Not to say Swift is a small artist by any means, but many artists over the years have tried and failed to stay out of ticketmaster's monopoly. Green Day, Pearl Jam, Springsteen... oh god I'm aging myself lol.

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Jubal7 t1_j5ymh7v wrote

Im a non concert-goer too but thats because I witnessed all my friends in college get scammed time and again trying to purchase tickets to their favorite bands. My young daughter just learned the hardway that she'll probably never see a Taylor Swift concert in her lifetime.

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Saitoh17 t1_j5rw8hs wrote

She also has to do business with a monopoly, it's not like she's unaffected by it.

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GatoradeNipples t1_j5rk0w9 wrote

>Idk, is there a financial incentive for her to break it up?

I mean, her fanbase is kinda forcing her hand on this one. If she goes against what the Swifties want, they'll just find a new pop star to define their identity around, and she's out of a job.

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supercyberlurker t1_j5pemj1 wrote

I'm not even really a Taylor Swift fan and I'm in support of them.

Ticketmaster should have been fixed years ago but wasn't because they bought the right politicians. It's shameful that we have to rely on activist fans because our government is failing to do their job.

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GoPointers t1_j5qopw3 wrote

Yup, DOJ had a great chance to fix this in the 90s but Ticketmaster bought the right politicians.

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p4rty_sl0th t1_j5p6ju7 wrote

the weaponization of the Swifties may prove to be a formidable force. Good luck!

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myops_rock t1_j5opglo wrote

You know antitrust is dead when our government is reduced to focusing on “Swifties” and fucking concert tickets. What a fucking joke.

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scottstaphinfection t1_j5osm5v wrote

it’s more to do with them being practically a monopoly, controlling a market and it’s prices

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myops_rock t1_j5owkdv wrote

They are practically a monopoly but that reflects a much broader problem and the focus on fucking concert tickets is pathetic and cowardly. That’s our government…

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ShiftSouth t1_j5qmu79 wrote

For once the government is actually doing their job and enforcing anti-trust laws.

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cannabination t1_j5ow3sn wrote

I don't think their unholy union with live Nation would be legal in any industry, certainly not when paired with their business practices. Idk why you think the music industry should have any less consumer protections than any other, but you're wrong.

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jiivanili t1_j5pb6f9 wrote

If cvs and walgreens tried to merge like this, it would be a huge problem. I use this example because I work in the pharmaceutical industry. It would not be accepted at all because the price gouging would be even worse than what it is already.

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cannabination t1_j5pef4n wrote

It's more like Walgreens buying CVS and then merging with the only pharmaceutical company in the world.

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R_V_Z t1_j5qrx1v wrote

That's what Safeway and Kroger are attempting. Hope the regulatory agency says no.

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jiivanili t1_j5qy1my wrote

Kroger is already a parent company for a significant number of other stores so I really hope they don't allow it.

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myops_rock t1_j5owrzq wrote

I don’t think it should have any less protections or these actions are justified. But I think the focus on fucking concert tickets is pathetic and cowardly given how broadly antitrust is a problem in our economy.

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cannabination t1_j5oxzdq wrote

I mean, they're the busting head of every single person that sees a concert in a venue of any size, anywhere in the country... seems like that might make some folks mad enough to say something.

There are protests against a lot dumber things than this... remember the truckers in dc last year?

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myops_rock t1_j5p9mpg wrote

Yup. The monopoly on concert promotion and ticket sales is bad. But I see it as a secondary concern because cocncerts aren’t essential. You could never see another live act and you would survive.

I do recall the Canadian truckers protesting against vaccination requirements to drive alone in their trucks and the Canadian government’s heavy handed response because those protests were effective. I think that it was disgusting how powerful people coerced many to take vaccines they didn’t want by threatening their livelihoods. That is not how individual health decisions should be made.

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cannabination t1_j5pdxz9 wrote

I'm talking about the truckers driving around the beltway in DC. I'd say read an article about it, but I'm starting to suspect your world view isn't primarily evidence based.

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myops_rock t1_j5rpx94 wrote

The copycat shit in DC was lame. The leaf truckers that were their inspiration were great. They showed us little Trudeau’s fascist colors.

I suspect our world view’s are vastly different. I expect our lives experiences are vastly different. I expect you and I have very different ideas about how to determine what is true.

We all like evidence that confirms our biases. Good luck with your pretensions.

0

Sex_Fueled_Squirrel t1_j5pevdb wrote

The Canadian government also coerces them into driving sober by threatening their livelihoods if they don't.

Talk about tyranny. That's not how individual health decisions like when and where I get to drink should be made. My body, my choice!

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texasdeafdogs t1_j5rq6a5 wrote

People are capable of addressing more than 1 thing at a time too.

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myops_rock t1_j5rudyy wrote

Indeed. Our government is very good at enriching the people in it and their families while acting at the behest of people with tremendous wealth. They even manage to squeeze in time to lie through their teeth to us. Multitasking.

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MoCapBartender t1_j5ruhbo wrote

It's really amazing what protesting can accomplish when it doesn't threaten the rich.

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myops_rock t1_j5ryxcc wrote

For real. When it suits their interests they’ll even subsidize it!

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LordOfHorns t1_j5picol wrote

It was already ridiculous, but this was the straw that broke the camels back

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Alert-Mud-672 t1_j5px5qo wrote

Pearl Jam tried.

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acute_elbows t1_j5sfohd wrote

I love Pearl Jam, but I don’t think they ever had as large of a fan base as TSwift and let’s be honest, the GenX grunge fans aren’t that motivated to protest in DC

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adamttaylor t1_j5pzld2 wrote

To be fair, it is actually a problem that the US needs to resolve.....

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koavf OP t1_j5pzo4z wrote

It 100% is: this is a monopoly that clearly hurts consumers.

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thebadnews t1_j5son0v wrote

thats the spirit! darn those capitalist thugs in america!

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Fascist_are_horrible t1_j5p0vbt wrote

I wonder how many swifties will get surprised that most of those fees go directly to the performer. While ticketmaster is a monopoly, it also plays the bad guy for the artists, so they can charge more.

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dtmfadvice t1_j5qx0b2 wrote

Yeah. Ticketmaster sucks, no doubt about it, but it's separate from the fact remains that an artist can only perform so many shows per year, and that means there are only so many tickets.

So, yes, break up their shitty monopoly. It'll help venues, it'll help less famous artists, it'll probably help regular fans of less famous artists.

But it won't make Taylor Swift tickets easier to get or cheaper.

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SweetCosmicPope t1_j5rbvl9 wrote

It certainly won't make them easier to get. It MIGHT at least reign in some of the cost if it causes them to ditch dynamic pricing and stuff. They're still going to get fleeced by the scalpers, but that's a completely separate problem that needs to be addressed, as well.

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minneapple79 t1_j5s1s52 wrote

It also won’t fix bots or scalpers. I think if Ticketmaster had maybe had a semi-competent ticket sale (which hello, they should be able to do) this wouldn’t be an issue at all. People got pissed off after they were in the queues all day and then kicked off or didn’t get tickets after waiting for so long.

And yeah, artists generally earn more from touring than actual music sales. Not sure how that works with an artist like Swift who sells a lot of music, and I think she owns the rights to her music as well.

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TypicalJeepDriver t1_j5qd90y wrote

I mean honestly, anyone and everywhere who has ever attended a concert or event where Ticketmaster applied fees should protest. It’s absolutely ridiculous the fees they’re able to tack on and additionally how they’re scalping their own tickets.

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sableee t1_j5qelhc wrote

I had a bad experience with my ticketmaster ticket for Bon Iver, I’d love to protest this shit monopoly that is ticketf**ker

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Dirtywizard2000 t1_j5os35m wrote

You can take our lives but not our concert tickets lol

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LouQuacious t1_j5petx6 wrote

Phish fans have been vocal about Ticketbastard shenanigans for over 20yrs.

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Hi_Im_Dadbot t1_j5osi51 wrote

Swift should do a concert for them there to say thanks. Then have Ticketmaster sell the tickets to it, just to annoy everyone.

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BadBrains16 t1_j5pzf3w wrote

TM/Live Nation own the bulk of the larger and mid sized venues nationwide. The artists are under contract for a set number of shows at a set price. All of those extra fees and variable “Platinum” pricing all go to TM/Live Nation, not the artist. The artist knows this when they sign up for a tour. However, since TM/Live Nation is signing their checks the artist isn’t going to complain. Sucks for the fans, both new and old.

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Agreton t1_j5tlsh0 wrote

It sucks for the artists as well, considering they are the ones who own the music. Ticketmaster has been nothing but grift.

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ADDandKinky t1_j5q8kt6 wrote

It’s time to swiftly in here. I’m Mr. Bulldog ..

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Ultraferret107 t1_j5rym1v wrote

I can roll with this EDIT: if any mods see this am i still permabanned for posting not-oniony-enough articles?

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lazzzym t1_j5sn3bs wrote

Fuck Ticketmaster.

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DamonFields t1_j5q4p80 wrote

Good. Someone needs to do something.

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ExRockstar t1_j5qvsc8 wrote

Wouldn't want to run into one of those Swifties in a dark alley

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Johnmegaman72 t1_j5re80g wrote

Taylor will make a song about this isn't she?

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Optimistic__Elephant t1_j5rsxnz wrote

Artists love to criticize ticketmaster, but the truth is they’re all on cahoots. Artists and venues don’t want to be the bad guy charging high prices. So they let Ticketmaster take the role of the villain and kicks back a good portion of those fees to the venue and artist.

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Unfair-Sector9506 t1_j5sjrw2 wrote

They still gonna buy the tickets...put your money where your mouth is and stop feeding ticket Master

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montemanm1 t1_j5p82ns wrote

Is it the artists that sign contracts with Ticketbastards, or the venues, the record companies, or some combination?

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MegaAscension t1_j5qiog5 wrote

Ticketmaster owns nearly all the large venues. Ticketmaster also own merch distribution companies. They also own artist promotion companies. So if an artist cuts ties with Ticketmaster, they get locked out of really everything. Ticketmaster has a whopping 300+ subsidiaries. Link to everything they own- https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1335258/000119312511050243/dex211.htm

They also make up 89% of ticket revenue shares.

Artists don't have much of an option.

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Kind_Bullfrog_4073 t1_j5r93s5 wrote

Shouldnt they protest outside the Ticketmaster office?

−1

koavf OP t1_j5tdvsz wrote

No.

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Kind_Bullfrog_4073 t1_j5tf1gw wrote

Why not? Government has thousands of more important things to deal with than the price of Taylor Swift concerts. Ticketmaster only has tickets to deal with.

0

koavf OP t1_j5tf582 wrote

Because that would waste their time: Ticketmaster aren't incentivized to end their monopoly, whereas protecting consumers' interests is the priority of several individuals and agencies in government.

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Leiryn t1_j5oy7v5 wrote

Why does it take a protest to even try to get anything good done in this country, fucking Republicans. Though democrats aren't much better at all

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CrashnServers t1_j5pjwm2 wrote

People who still have faith in the government is cute to see. 🤭

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byronicbluez t1_j5puyco wrote

I have faith in the government to fix minor problems while avoiding the real issues like Healthcare, Inflation, Gun Violence, etc.

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TupperCoLLC t1_j5r22aa wrote

It’s far from perfect but it’s our best chance

or whatever Churchill said

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blahbleh112233 t1_j5oskcd wrote

Lemme guess, solidly middle class people are gonna show up for an hour before they realize its too cold to go further.

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fatnipple t1_j5osklh wrote

It's giving yassified Jan 6.

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sexybimbogf t1_j5r2t3u wrote

tb to that time switfies stormed the US Capitol changing "hang Mike Pence" and tried to overthrow the US Government. they even brought weapons and some of them wore confederate or nazi imagery!

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Warpzit t1_j5p0h8l wrote

Ticketmaster will die within the next 10 years. They are hated too much. I suspect NFTs will take over and finally find a good application everyone can get behind. The traceability will ruin it for scammers and cheaters.

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Brewing_Tea t1_j5p8bbd wrote

>I suspect NFTs will take over

Will they, now?

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koavf OP t1_j5pa85i wrote

>Ticketmaster will die within the next 10 years. They are hated too much. I suspect NFTs will take over and finally find a good application everyone can get behind. The traceability will ruin it for scammers and cheaters.

/u/Warpzit

!RemindMe 3650 days

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Warpzit t1_j5pe4n6 wrote

It is already happening.

What people fail to realize with NFTs is that it is only a link entered into a shared database. Value lies in tracing ownership which is perfect for ticket systems and like.

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Spire_Citron t1_j5s1rts wrote

We already have ways of tracking the ownership of tickets. That's not where the issue is.

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Warpzit t1_j5sebh0 wrote

Kinda is. Ticketmaster sells the ticket to middlemen that are front running your orders in order to increase the price per ticket. Basically they are doing the same thing to ticket as is being done to the stock market.

−1

Spire_Citron t1_j5sewi8 wrote

They could require a name when buying tickets and ID to get in if they wanted to make sure there would be no middlemen buying up tickets. There's nothing that can't be done around that using traditional methods that is only possible through NFTs.

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