The Fans First Act: Billie Eilish, Sia, Green Day and Others Back Bill to Protect Fans After Shameful Taylor Swift-Ticketmaster Controversy
Given how swiftly Taylor Swift is dominating the music industry and amassing more fan-following each day, it did not come as a surprise when we learned that she has broken the record for selling the most number of tickets for her live show in one day. Over 2.4 million tickets were grabbed by fans in no time when the ticket sale for the Eras Tour opened.
However, that DIDN’T end all too well. Ticketmaster and Live Nation, the platforms responsible for selling the tickets crashed after making fans wait in queue for hours and then canceled the public sale because a huge amount of tickets were already sold. The website could not handle the large demand and fans were left empty-handed after hours or waiting to buy the tickets.
Taylor Swift Was Assured Ticketmaster Can Handle the Footfall
The Taylor Swift-Ticketmaster controversy happened when fans complained about waiting in line for the tickets only for the website to crash at the last second. The echo of the dissatisfaction of Swifties across the United States of America was heard far and wide. The platforms issued an apology and claimed that the unprecedented demand for the tickets forced the website to crash and exit all the users.
However, Swift took to Instagram where she posted stories and explained how annoyed she was at the situation. She explained that her team was assured repeatedly by Ticketmaster that they could handle the rush and the website would be able to filter bots and scammy buyers who intend to sell the tickets on the black market for a jacked-up price. According to The Guardian, Swift said in an Instagram story,
“Well. It goes without saying that I’m extremely protective of my fans. We’ve been doing this for decades together and over the years, I’ve brought so many elements of my career in-house. I’ve done this SPECIFICALLY to improve the quality of my fans’ experience by doing it myself with my team who care as much about my fans as I do. It’s really difficult for me to trust an outside entity with these relationships and loyalties, and excruciating for me to just watch mistakes happen with no recourse.”
The Eras Tour was Swift’s first tour in five years, so understandably die-hard fans were eagerly waiting to watch the Love Story singer perform live. The ticket sales were just the tip of the iceberg since this tour went on to break so many records and made headlines each new day. However, celebrities, especially Swift, know that their popularity hinges on their fans’ support. So, they do everything in their power to keep them happy and satisfied.
The Fans First Act Aspires to Protect Fans’ Interests
After the ticket sale debacle, it was deemed necessary to have some strict regulations in place that can help streamline the processes for fans as they invest their time and money in buying tickets for their favorite live shows. Introduced by Sens. John Cornyn, Amy Klobuchar, Marsha Blackburn, Peter Welch, Roger Wicker, and Ben Ray Lujan last year, the Fans First Act aspires to protect fans’ interests and to ensure they have a safe and comfortable experience in buying tickets to live concerts.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Bill has garnered public support not only from fans but also from popular celebrities including Billie Eilish, Sia, Green Day, Major Lazer, and Cyndi Lauper.
The Bill has been signed by various artists who wish to keep their fans’ interests above all else. At the end of the day, all live shows and new albums are made for fans, who keep loving and appreciating their favorite artists. The main objective behind the Fans First Act is to reform the ticketing system so that everyone has a fair chance to buy tickets and watch the artists perform live. The bill further elucidates on eliminating resellers and bots from the queue so that only honest concertgoers can grab the tickets.
