Ticketmaster is sorry for the Taylor Swift concert ticket chaos.
Thousands of the ‘Anti-Hero’ hitmaker, 33, were unable to purchase tickets for her hotly anticipated Eras Tour, which has prompted concerns about the monopoly over the live gig industry.
Joe Berchtold, the president of Live Nation, their parent company who bought them in 2010, told the US Senate’s consumer rights committee: "We need to do better and we will.”
He attributed the “terrible consumer experience” due to a bot attack.
"We were then hit with three times the amount of bot traffic than we had ever experienced, and for the first time in 400 Verified Fan onsales they came after our Verified Fan access code servers.
"While the bots failed to penetrate our systems or acquire any tickets, the attack required us to slow down and even pause our sales. This is what led to a terrible consumer experience that we deeply regret."
Senator Amy Klobuchar, the chair of the committee lambasted them for being the only “choice” for artists like Taylor to partner with to sell gig tickets.
Last year, the lawmaker said: “In truth, there is no other choice. It is a monopoly.
She added: "The high fees, site disruptions and cancellations that customers experienced shows how Ticketmaster's dominant market position means the company does not face any pressure to continually innovate and improve."
Taylor herself labelled seeing fans being unable to get tickets to see her "excruciating" as she gears up to go on the road for the first time since 2017 with opening acts like Phoebe Bridgers, Haim and Muna.
