Breaches of Ethics Position Paper — The Era of Exploitation

 Introduction

On November 1, 2022, Taylor Swift fans were surprised to learn that she had announced the now record-breaking Eras Tour. Swift had not gone on tour since her Reputation World Tour in 2018, and millions of Swift fans, who call themselves Swifties, rushed to Ticketmaster to sign up for the verified fan presale so they could have first dibs at tickets to what would become one of the most iconic tours in history. Fans were severely disappointed to encounter numerous technical issues and exorbitant fees from Ticketmaster. These issues reflected negatively on Swift.

Later, it was discovered that Ticketmaster, a subsidiary of Live Nation Entertainment, allegedly collaborated with resale ticket vendors to purchase tickets and resell them online for significantly more than their face value.

Swift was not the only performer to experience these issues; other artists have faced similar problems, prompting the Federal Trade Commission to sue Ticketmaster and Live Nation.

Verified Fans

The Verified Fan program for Ticketmaster, launched in 2017, was designed to allow fans to sign up with Ticketmaster, giving them a chance to enter the lottery for designated pre-sale tickets. Those not selected for a pre-sale code are added to a waitlist in case tickets are still available. This program also claimed to protect fans from bots and scalpers.

On November 9th, 2022, over 3.5 million Swift fans pre-registered for tickets to her upcoming Era's Tour. This became Ticketmaster's highest number of verified fans to sign up for tickets. However, unfortunately, more than half of the registered Swifties were not selected for the pre-sale and were placed on a waitlist.

During the pre-sale, many fans were dissatisfied with the system: codes did not work when prompted, the website crashed, and once they added tickets to their cart, they were kicked out of the system after waiting in a queue for 8 hours or more.

As mentioned, the program is designed to prevent bots and scalpers from purchasing tickets. However, during the FTC review, it was determined that Ticketmaster allowed these agents to purchase tickets for resale at prices that were rarely below $1,000 each.

"It's really difficult for me to trust an outside entity with these relationships and loyalties, and excruciating for me to just watch mistakes happen with no recourse."  - Taylor Swift

 

Dynamic Pricing and the Ethics of Manipulation

Another aspect of Ticketmaster's deception was the use of dynamic pricing, or what they market as "Official Platinum Tickets." This method is similarly used in rideshare pricing, where prices fluctuate based on demand. Users observed seats advertised at $249 jump to $2,000 within minutes.

Ticketmaster defended its use of this method as a matter of "market economics." After an ethical analysis, it was determined that this pricing strategy in live entertainment exploits the psychology of urgency and attachment, and that fans who may have waited years to see their favorite artist are pressured into paying what the algorithm sets as ticket prices, effectively monetizing emotion while claiming it's just supply and demand.

In the FTC complaint, this practice is listed as "drip pricing," which involves advertising a low base rate and then revealing unavoidable service and processing fees only at checkout. Some Swift fans reported fees exceeding 40% or more of the ticket cost. This manipulates users into purchasing tickets without full disclosure, thereby violating the principle of informed consent and autonomy.

When Choice Disappears

While hidden fees directly punish fans, the root of the problem lies in the lack of competition. In 2023, the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing featured experts who testified that Ticketmaster controls roughly 70% of the U.S. ticketing industry and is the primary ticketing agent for over 80% of all professional sports venues where Swift held her shows. This means that Live Nation/Ticketmaster acts as a ticket seller, venue owner, and concert promoter, allowing them to dictate terms to both the artist and fans.

"Live Nation is so powerful that it doesn't even need to exert pressure, it doesn't need to threaten, because people just fall in line,"- Sen. Amy Klobuchar

In May 2024, the Justice Department filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in conjunction with 30 state and district attorneys general.

“The live music industry in America is broken because Live Nation-Ticketmaster has an illegal monopoly,”- Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter

Why Artists Get Burned, Too

Unfortunately, Swift could not control Ticketmaster's infrastructure, but the debacle caused major blowback for her brand. When a dominant intermediary fails, artists bear the fallout, even as their fans are priced out by a partner they did not choose. An artist is putting their reputation in the hands of their loyal fans when they are both reliant on a single entity.

This is Going to Ruin the World Tour

Swift is not the only artist to deal with issues created by Ticketmaster and Live Nation. The others included Bad Bunny, Bruce Springsteen, and Beyoncé.

In 2022, hundreds of Bad Bunny fans with tickets purchased from Ticketmaster were denied entrance to his concert in Mexico after the ticketing company stated that an "unprecedented number" of tickets were counterfeit, despite having been purchased through the service. It was discovered that over 1,700 tickets were deemed fake during two consecutive nights. Ticketmaster ultimately refunded the affected individuals, along with an additional compensation fee.

Also in 2022, Ticketmaster's "Official Platinum" tickets to Bruce Springsteen's tour surged to upwards of $5,000. A fanzine announced that it would be closing after 43 years due to backlash against the singer. Springsteen had always shown a longstanding loyalty to the blue-collar community, and the prices have made it so that fans can no longer afford tickets.

In 2023, after witnessing the struggles with The Eras Tour, fans of Beyoncé also anticipated similar issues, especially with dynamic pricing, which could cause ticket prices to reach extreme amounts. Beyoncé was required to use Ticketmaster due to Live Nation's ownership of the venues where she was performing.

The Closing Act

While the Era's Tour should have only been a celebration of Swift's nearly two decades of her career, it was clouded by disappointment with the failed ticketing system. When a gatekeeper controls every aspect of a concert, including tickets, venue, and rules, and then hides the actual prices until the moment of checkout, it's not just a bad user experience; it's an ethical failure. Regulators may be able to litigate the law, but unfortunately, the damage has been done to many fans and artists across many genres.