Taylor Swift mess prompts U.S. Senate hearing on ticket sales

Two months after Ticketmaster canceled its public sale of Taylor Swift concert tickets, a hearing has been scheduled in the U.S. Senate, to "examine the lack of competition in the ticketing industry."

The hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee, titled That’s The Ticket: Promoting Competition and Protecting Consumers in Live Entertainment, is set for 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 24.

"This hearing comes after reports of significant service failures and delays on Ticketmaster’s website in November left fans unable to purchase concert tickets for Taylor Swift’s new tour," senators said in a statement.

U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-NJ 9th District, praised the announcement of an upcoming hearing. The congressman has been calling for regulation of the live events ticket market, and he was an early critic of the Live Nation-Ticketmaster merger.

"I look forward to the testimony at this hearing to bring forward the issues consumers, artists and small businesses face in this industry, and peel back the curtain on the need for real legislation to put guardrails on the ticketing industry," Pascrell said. "This can be the year where Congress comes together to bring real regulation to live events ticketing."

Dino Flammia is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dino.flammia@townsquaremedia.com

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