This weeks debacle with the sale of tickets for Taylor Swifts upcoming The Eras Tour has already caused such an uproar, United States Senators and Congressmen are calling for investigations, while the Justice Department has reportedly opened a probe into the matter. It comes on the same week many Tyler Childers fans were also left jilted looking for concert tickets.
But this is not the first time that Ticketmaster practices have raised such an uproar that elements of the Federal government have chosen to get involved, and even well before the merger of Ticketmaster and live concert promoter and venue owner LiveNation in 2010.
In 1994, the Seattle-based grunge band Pearl Jam was one of the biggest things in all of music. Their debut album Ten released in 1991 became one of the most successful releases in history (now 13x Platinum), and their 1993 followup Vs. sold over 950,000 copies in its first week, which set a record for the most copies sold in a debut weeka record that would stand until Garth Brooks bested them with Double Live in 1998.
Amid the bands incredible success, the Pearl Jam members decided to reign in the commercial aspects of their career to keep themselves grounded, and center the attention on the music itself. They ceased making videos for their singles. They refused to grant interviews to the press or submit for flashy photo shoots. They also decided they wanted to keep concert tickets affordable so their fans could see them no matter what. This ran Pearl Jam afoul of Ticketmaster, which ultimately shaped the very destiny of Pearl Jam in subsequent years, including when and how they released music, and even the bands lineup.
https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/mad-at-ticketmaster-pearl-jam-has-you-beat-by-28-years/