Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said Wednesday that his office is investigating whether Ticketmaster violated any consumer protection laws after fans trying to buy tickets to Taylor Swift's upcoming concerts complained.
Fans took to social media Tuesday and some called Skrmetti's office as well, he said during a Zoom call with reporters. He said he didn't know how many calls came in, but it was enough to cause him to look further into the matter.
"We have received complaints," he said during the call.
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He said while he has not found any violations in the matter, he is looking into it in part because Ticketmaster controls nearly 70% of the ticket-buying market.
"We are concerned about this very dominant market player (Ticketmaster), and we want to make sure that they're treating consumers right and people are receiving fair opportunity to purchase the tickets that clearly matter a great deal to them."
Skrmetti said fans were given a presale code, which typically gives buyers an easier road to buying highly sought after tickets. However, many fans complained Tuesday on social media about being unable to get through or getting kicked off the Ticketmaster website.
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He also said that while he has not received any factual information that Ticketmaster might be offering ticket resale sites any unfair opportunities to buy in-demand tickets, he is concerned that Ticketmaster is "profiting twice" by selling to consumers and unfairly to resale sites that buy tickets in bulk and then resell them at inflated prices.
Swift will be touring in support of her new album "Midnights" and holds the unique claim to being the only artist to hold all 10 spots atop the Hot 100 Billboard chart. Given that, Skrmetti said he was surprised Ticketmaster appeared to not be ready for the demand for tickets.
Swift's "The Eras" tour will stop at Nissan Stadium in Nashville on May 6, 2023.
Skrmetti said Tennessee law gives him the right to look into the allegations to see whether promises were made to potential buyers that were false or illegal.
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"Consumers were given presale codes to purchase tickets, and we need to look into exactly what was promised and whether that was provided," Skrmetti said Wednesday.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354. Follow him on Twitter @BarryJC.