Scalper bots caused Taylor Swift ticket chaos, Senate panel hears in testimony

Live Nation merged with Ticketmaster in 2010, making it the main conduit between artists and venues in the US. While the company has been under criticism over the last decade for its dominance of the live events industry, it has come under fresh and intensified scrutiny after fans trying to get Swift tickets in November experienced crashes and glitches of the ticketing service.

Senator Richard Blumenthal told Berchtold that Live Nation pointing fingers at scalper bots ignores the control the company has in the market. Blumenthal pointed out that Live Nation could go after scalpers by reporting them to officials.

Mickelson pointed out that Ticketmaster, when selling tickets for artists like Taylor Swift, makes more money as tickets get more expensive through dynamic prices.

Ticketmaster ultimately cancelled sales to the general public, citing extremely high demand. The company said it ultimately has sold more than 2m tickets for the tour and could have filled 900 stadiums with demand for tickets.