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By: Mekala Seme, Student Writer
Eboni Brown was ecstatic when he received pre-sale tickets for SZA’s “SOS” tour on February 26 in the Capital One area of ​​Washington, DC. An avid concert goer, the North Carolina native and Howard University student has become a master at securing concert tickets using the notorious ticket sales and distribution company, conductor.
Brown is from Goldsboro, North Carolina, a sleepy town in the eastern part of the state. Before she moved to Washington, D.C., to attend Howard University in August 2021, Brown’s live music experience was virtually non-existent.
The junior international relations major has played 10 concerts over the past year and plans to play two more to wrap up her concert run for the remainder of the year. Brown, however, is one of many concertgoers frustrated with Ticketmaster’s ticketing practices.
In November, the owner of Ticketmaster came under fire from the US Department of Justice for selling tickets to Taylor Swift’s “The Eras” tour. The Ticketmaster system crashed during pre-sales for Swift’s tour, prompting resentment and revenge from Swift fans against Ticketmaster and Live Nation Entertainment.
Like Swift fans, Brown’s time at Ticketmaster was fraught with obstacles. While navigating the Ticketmasters platform, Brown learned to deal with long wait times, dealers and website crashes.
“Every time I buy concert tickets from a Live Nation affiliated artist, it’s a wild moment,” Brown said.
year 2010, Ministry of Justice The merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster was approved. Since the merger of the two companies in 2010, they have been regarded as “industry giants”, monopolizing the live entertainment music industry that the Justice Department initially tried to prevent.
according to New York TimesTicketmaster tickets to “80 of the top 100 venues nationwide”.
Ticketmaster and Live Nation are under investigation by the Department of Justice for alleged antitrust violations. Recently, three US senators called on the Justice Department to hold Ticketmaster and Live Nation Entertainment accountable for their actions.
Message from Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Edward J. Markey (D-MA) letter To Attorney General Garland and Assistant Attorney General Kanter for calling on the Justice Department to break up the merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation and expose any antitrust violations.
As the Justice Department and US senators called for transparency from Ticketmaster and Live Nation, fans asked for the same. Like Brown, Tusmo Olhaye was excited to meet Sza at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., but that was quickly offset when she realized how much the ticket would cost.
“I wish I had gotten tickets sooner or realized you could buy them at the box office,” Olhaye said.
The Howard junior was planning to buy tickets at Capital One Arena, but she found tickets were being sold on Ticketmaster’s website for more than $400. When she got to the box office, Olhaye was dismayed to find that the concert was sold out.
As summer approaches, the artists have announced dates and locations for their upcoming US and global tours.
Beyonce Knowles recently announced that her Renaissance world tour will begin on May 10, 2023 in Stockholm, Sweden. The Renaissance World Tour will be the artist’s first solo tour since 2016’s “Lemonade” tour. The Renaissance Tour Announcement has become part of the ongoing saga of live music entertainment experiences.
Drake also announced his North American tour, “It’s All a Blur Tour,” with rapper 21 Savage via Instagram on March 13. The tour is scheduled to begin on June 16, 2023 at the Smoothing King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.Fans can get Ticketmaster pre-sale access by accessing the pre-sale code cash application.
As fans look forward to new tour announcements, they also hope that Ticketmaster won’t spoil the live entertainment music experience.
“I tend to go to concerts because there’s nothing like seeing my favorite artist and knowing I’m going to have a good time,” Brown said. “I want to keep experiencing concerts because you never know when your favorite artist’s next tour is.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted the live music entertainment experience. With so much uncertainty, fans want to connect with their favorite artists through concerts, but Ticketmaster and Live Nation Entertainment are making that difficult.
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