WASHINGTON, D.C. –Yesterday, during a hearing examining the impact of ticket sales practices in the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Technology, and Data Privacy, Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) grilled a representative from Live Nation Entertainment, Mr. Dan Wall, on the allegations that Ticketmaster turned a blind eye to scalpers violating ticket purchasing limits as a matter of policy. She also spoke with entertainer Robert Ritchie, better known as “Kid Rock,” on how the ticketing industry is putting scammers before artists and their fans. 

Excerpts of Sen. Blackburn’s Hearing Remarks

Senator Blackburn: “If you were to ask any of my fellow Tennesseans what's wrong with ticketing today, they will not hesitate to tell you that the system feels rigged against them… They watch the tickets vanish in seconds, and they come back on the secondary markets at three or four times the price.”

Senator Blackburn: “Fans are not angry about the fact that tickets are popular and that events are popular… What they're mad as hell about is that the system is stacked against them. The ticket industry should desire to do better.”

Senator Blackburn: “[Mr. Wall], in the FTC’s complaint, executives at Ticketmaster knew that scalpers were violating the ticket purchasing limits… It was a big inside joke that you all knew this, but you were allowing it to happen. Your C-Suite knew of this. One of your executives even wrote in an email that we have stating that you, and I'm quoting, ‘turn a blind eye as a matter of policy.’”

Mr. Wall: “…Our bot defenses are second to none in the world…” 

Senator Blackburn: “They’re obviously not up to par. You’ve got bots still getting through, and you’ve got scalpers that are still scooping up these tickets.”

Senator Blackburn: “Do you accept any responsibility when a fan is hit with a speculative or ghost ticket?” 

Mr. Wall: “Never, because we do not allow those on Ticketmaster…”

Senator Blackburn: “But it’s happening.”

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