Frustrated Taylor Swift fans battle ticket bots and Ticketmaster
CBSN
U.S. lawmakers are giving fans a spark of hope they could buy event tickets at more affordable prices. Several senators told CBS News they would support federal legislation that limits the profit sellers can make on the ticket resale market. The idea stems from growing calls for a crackdown on resale practices, which derailed the 2022 Taylor Swift Eras Tour ticket rollout.
People can make thousands of dollars in profit by selling tickets at inflated prices on the secondary market to consumers who missed out on the original sale. Prices are driven even higher by resellers who use automated software called bots to bulk-buy mass quantities of tickets at once.
Complaints about these systems came to a head during the November 2022 presale to Taylor Swift's Eras tour.
