One unscripted moment from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/taylor-swift" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Taylor Swift</a>’s concert in Philadelphia went viral, and now the fan involved is speaking out.
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/celebrities" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Grammy Award-</a>winning artist was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/music" target="_blank" rel="noopener">performing</a> at the Lincoln Financial Field during her “Eras” Tour on Saturday night when she stopped to scold a security guard in the middle of the show. Multiple videos show Swift pausing the song “Bad Blood” to say, “She wasn’t doing anything,” and “Hey! Stop!” and “She’s fine!” during the viral moment. 
Apparently, the security guard had been trying to keep concertgoers from getting too close to one of the erected barriers, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hey-stop-stop-taylor-swift-goes-off-script-to-scold-security-during-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
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Not sure what happened during Bad Blood but it was enough Taylor needed to get involved… <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/erastour?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#erastour</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/taylorswift?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#taylorswift</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/tserastourphilly?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#tserastourphilly</a> <a href="https://t.co/JcJMmi0dOJ">pic.twitter.com/JcJMmi0dOJ</a>
&mdash; Nicolle Bradford (@NicolleBradford) <a href="https://twitter.com/NicolleBradford/status/1657580034637307905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Now the woman in question is defending her actions and applauding Swift’s intervention. The Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12082453/EXCL-Mom-harassed-security-Taylor-Swifts-tour-Philadelphia-gets-free-tickets.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the fan involved in the incident was Kelly Inglis Kelly from Baltimore, Maryland.
Kelly made a TikTok video detailing the event and posted it on Sunday using her best friend’s account, they said.
“Ok, I was the girl that Taylor talked to last night,” Kelly claimed in the video. “Basically, the guard had been, like, harassing our group all night… he just kept telling us not to touch the rail and every time we did anything, he was like, on top of us,” she said of her interaction with security.
“We’re dancing, having fun, he didn’t like it, and Taylor noticed that I was having fun and that he didn’t like it, and she didn’t like it, and then he basically, like, got escorted out and then they offered us free tickets for tonight,” Kelly went on. 
She also said that even though the incident made headlines in the coming days, ultimately, it was not a big deal.
“It wasn’t this big crazy thing, it was just like a bunch of girls having a good time and he didn’t want us to have fun,” she said in the TikTok update.
Kelly told Daily Mail that the security guard did not “physically touch them” while trying to get them away from the barricade.
Kelly made another video she posted on her own TikTok account in which she praised Swift for her actions.
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“The fact that you did that for me last night, and you stood up for me, meant so, so, so, so much and like, I can’t even explain, like, you did that for me, and for your fans, and if there’s anything I know about you, you just want your fans to go to the show and have fun, and that’s all we were doing,” the fan said.
“It truly, truly meant so much to us that you did that, and to everybody. That you would stop to say something, and it was my 13th show, on the 13th, and I just feel like it was really cool,” she concluded.

Taylor Swift

‘He Didn’t Want Us To Have Fun’: Taylor Swift Fan Who Prompted Singer To Chastise Security Guard Speaks Out

Taylor Swift Fan Who Prompted Singer To Chastise Security Guard Speaks Out

Music

Music Industry

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia

U.S.

Pop superstar Taylor Swift stopped in the middle of a performance on Saturday to scold security guards that she believed were being too aggressive with her fans.
Swift was in the middle of her second show of three at Philadelphia&#8217;s Lincoln Financial Field when security began forcibly removing fans who were climbing on barricades during the show – and she apparently felt that they were being too rough with her audience.
WATCH:
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🚨| Longer video of Taylor trying to stop a situation from further arising between security and some fans at tonight’s show during Bad Blood
“Hey stop. He wasn’t doing anything. HEY! STOP!”
 <a href="https://t.co/PqN8IIn04q">pic.twitter.com/PqN8IIn04q</a>
&mdash; The Eras Tour (@tswifterastour) <a href="https://twitter.com/tswifterastour/status/1657583164603367427?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Swift was in the process of <a href="https://people.com/music/taylor-swift-defends-fan-security-eras-tour/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">performing</a> her hit song &#8220;Bad Blood&#8221; when she suddenly stopped singing and pointed off stage, shouting, &#8220;She&#8217;s fine. She wasn&#8217;t doing anything. Hey, stop! Stop!&#8221;
Swift continued to point and shout at the security guards, saying, &#8220;Stop!&#8221;
One concertgoer <a href="https://twitter.com/jackandtaylor/status/1657590804951494658" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a> about the experience, saying that the guards in question had been &#8220;putting their hands on us to physically push us off of the barricade instead of just telling us to move&#8221; — which was what reportedly caused Swift to react in the way that she did.
At the <a href="https://pagesix.com/2023/05/14/taylor-swift-gives-shout-out-to-ryan-reynolds-blake-livelys-kids-at-concert/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">previous night&#8217;s show</a>, Swift had given a shout out to two VIPs — the two oldest children of friends Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds. The &#8220;Gossip Girl&#8221; alum was on hand at the show with daughter James (8) and Inez (6) in tow.
&#8220;Hi James, hi Nezzy,&#8221; Swift mouthed in their direction at one point, waving at them on several occasions throughout the show.
Lively and Swift are so close that the actress&#8217; kids reportedly view the singer as an aunt – and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-zhJBlerVI" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to Reynolds</a>, until very recently they believed Swift just liked to sing &#8220;as a hobby.&#8221;
&#8220;They just thought Taylor’s just like an aunt, like a friend of Mommy and Daddy that’s very, very close, almost family,&#8221; Reynolds said during an interview last fall. &#8220;And then they went to a concert one day and were like, ‘Ohhhhh, this isn’t a hobby.'&#8221;

Night Two – Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour – Nashville, TN

‘Hey, Stop! Stop!’: Taylor Swift Goes Off-Script To Scold Security During Show

'Hey, Stop! Stop!': Taylor Swift Goes Off-Script To Scold Security During Show

Celebrities

Recording artist <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/taylor-swift">Taylor Swift</a> didn’t let a torrential downpour stop her from performing in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nashville">Nashville</a>.
The “Midnight Rain” singer had to delay her <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/music">concert</a> at Nissan Stadium on Sunday night due to lightning strikes in the downtown area, which meant the show didn’t begin until after 10 p.m. and concluded after 1:30 a.m., per a Variety <a href="https://variety.com/2023/music/news/taylor-swift-nashville-rain-lightning-concert-delay-1235605928/">report</a>. Swift kept playing even as the rain fell.
One hour ahead of the scheduled concert time, announcements appeared on big screens and social media warning attendees to shelter in place or stay in their cars if they had not gone inside yet. That warning remained from around 5:30 until around 9:45.
Most of the 70,000 concertgoers stayed for the late show even though they all got soaked. The outlet described the general mood of the crowd as “delirious.” 
“It’s officially a rain show,” the “Shake It Off” composer told the crowd when the skies opened up during her performance. But rather than ending the concert early, Swift kept playing and making jokes.
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taylor alison swift. god of thunder and lightning. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NashvilleTSTheErasTour?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NashvilleTSTheErasTour</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TSThe?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TSThe</a> <a href="https://t.co/XT7Hhb7S7u">pic.twitter.com/XT7Hhb7S7u</a>
&mdash; Alexandra || {Taylor’s Version} (@alltooswiftly13) <a href="https://twitter.com/alltooswiftly13/status/1655450354983510016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2023</a></blockquote>
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“This is something we’re all doing together. It’s like such a bonding experience,” she said during the “Red” portion of her “Eras”-themed show. “We’re all gonna leave here tonight looking like we just went through five car washes… People will be like, ‘Where were you? Several wars?’ And you’re like, ‘No, I just went to the Eras Tour. It’s fine.&#8217;”
At almost 1 a.m. Swift began her “surprise songs” portion of the performance, Variety noted. The National singer Aaron Dessner joined Swift onstage to perform the “Midnights” bonus track “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve.” He was soaking wet as well.
“You guys have been through a lot tonight,” Swift told the crowd. “We all look like we were sprayed by a garden hose. We all look like river otters.” 
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The “Love Story” composer said of Dessner, “He was warned about the rain and he did accept the challenge anyway. Don’t worry about us, we’ve talked about this. We knew this was a possibility. Your hair is gonna look just as good as mine pretty soon.”
Dessner replied, “I was lucky to see other shows on this tour, but in the rain it’s even better.” 
At the end of the show, Swift instructed fans to “make some noise for my phenomenal dancers who danced in the rain for you all night. … The fact that you stayed for us, that you gave us everything you had — we love you so much, Nashville. We will never forget this night.”

Taylor Swift Performs Nashville Concert In Pouring Rain After Storm Delay: ‘We All Look Like River Otters’

Taylor Swift Performs Nashville Concert In Pouring Rain After Storm Delay

Entertainment

Nashville

Tennessee

Performing before roughly 70,000 people in Arizona, Taylor Swift <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-11879205/Taylor-Swift-declares-loves-teaching-men-apologize-debut-Eras-concert.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> her audience that she loves to “explain to men how to apologize.”
Swift, spoke of her 2020 album “Folklore,” in which she deviated from her usual method of autobiographical songs in her previous seven albums to weaving songs revolving around other characters she could imagine.
“It was kind of like journaling for you or something,” she said of her previous work. “I wanted to do a different thing that I had done before.”
“You know, my albums have characteristically been, sort of, excruciatingly autobiographical where, like, when I put out an album, it just feels like getting some sort of live-streamed, public autopsy or something,” she continued. “With this one I felt like, ‘Wouldn’t it be so fun to create characters and storylines and they could live in different times, and they could do all these things and they could fall in love and hurt each other, go to wars and all these things?’ So, I created all these characters, right?”
“Okay, so, sort of a recurring theme in my music is that I love to explain to men how to apologize,” she declared. “I just love it. It’s kind of my thing. I love to tell them step-by-step, ‘Here’s how simple this is to fix things if you just follow these easy steps that I’m laying out for you in a three-minute song.’ I just love the idea of men apologizing.”
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&quot;i love to explain to men how to apologise&quot; <a href="https://t.co/QIvLamcQ4l">pic.twitter.com/QIvLamcQ4l</a>
&mdash; rafia ✰ (@repromantic) <a href="https://twitter.com/repromantic/status/1637008754108686337?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Swift then explained how the song she was about to perform revolved around a teenage boy “named James trying to apologize to the love of his life and her name is Betty.” Those characters were inspired by actors Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively’s two young daughters.
Ironically, in late 2019, Swift suggested that she was discriminated against for being a woman, tweeting, &#8220;When you’re pretttttty sure that if you were a man, you’d be the man.”
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When you’re pretttttty sure that if you were a man, you’d be the man 💅 📷: Sami Drasin <a href="https://t.co/rjJesldpEQ">pic.twitter.com/rjJesldpEQ</a>
&mdash; Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) <a href="https://twitter.com/taylorswift13/status/1204897750476840960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2019</a></blockquote>
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That followed her album “Lover,” which included her song “The Man,” of which <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/08/taylor-swift-says-this-was-the-moment-she-woke-up-to-sexism-in-the-music-industry.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNBC News</a> reported, “In the song, Swift imagines how society would view her if she were a man. She revealed a preview of the lyrics in the Vogue interview: &#8216;I’d be a fearless leader. I’d be an alpha type. When everyone believes ya: What’s that like?’”
In the September 2019 issue of <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/taylor-swift-cover-september-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vogue</a>, Swift complained, “I would hear people talk about sexism in the music industry, and I’d be like, I don’t see it. I don’t understand. Then I realized that was because I was a kid. Men in the industry saw me as a kid. I was a lanky, scrawny, overexcited young girl who reminded them more of their little niece or their daughter than a successful woman in business or a colleague.”
“It’s fine to infantilize a girl’s success and say, &#8216;How cute that she’s having some hit songs,&#8217;” Swift continued. “But the second it becomes formidable? As soon as I started playing stadiums — when I started to look like a woman — that wasn’t as cool anymore.”
Swift also stated in her 2019 acceptance speech for Billboard&#8217;s &#8220;Woman of the Decade&#8221; award, “The definition of the &#8216;toxic male privilege&#8217; in this industry is people saying ‘but he’s always been nice to me’ when I’m raising valid concerns about artists and their right to own their music.’”
Related: Taylor Swift: <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/taylor-swift-id-be-the-man-if-i-were-a-man/">I’d Be ‘The Man’ If I Were A Man</a>

Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour – Second Night

Taylor Swift Boasts: ‘I Love To Explain To Men How To Apologize’

Feminism

The Senate Judiciary Committee warned Ticketmaster that they’ll be watching what happens with ticket sales for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/beyonce" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Beyoncé</a>’s recently announced Renaissance tour.
The committee&#8217;s Twitter account said, “We’re watching, [Ticketmaster],” in response to a headline announcing the tour. The warning comes on the heels of a highly-publicized disaster with ticket sales for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/taylor-swift" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Taylor Swift</a>&#8216;s Eras Tour last November.
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We’re watching, <a href="https://twitter.com/Ticketmaster?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Ticketmaster</a>. <a href="https://t.co/LuWjoXrWX4">https://t.co/LuWjoXrWX4</a>
&mdash; Senate Judiciary Committee (@JudiciaryDems) <a href="https://twitter.com/JudiciaryDems/status/1621191756531236866?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Multiple senators blasted Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation Entertainment, during a hearing about the ticket sales fiasco. This was all spurred by allegations that Ticketmaster has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ticketmasters-botched-sale-of-taylor-swift-tickets-converted-gen-zers-into-anti-monopolists-ftc-chairman-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">monopolized</a> the industry after merging with Live Nation in 2010.
When fans tried to purchase <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/music-industry">tickets</a> for the Eras tour after pre-registering, the entire site crashed, leaving some people waiting in line for hours only to never secure their tickets. Eventually, the general sale was called off because demand was too high to match availability.
Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino said they were simply not equipped to handle the demand for Swift concert tickets. 
“We invited a million and a half on that day to come and buy those tickets, but it’s kind of like having a party,” he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/taylor-swift-finally-breaks-silence-after-eras-tour-ticket-fiasco">explained</a>. “Everybody crashed that door at the same time with 3.5 billion requests.”
“We sold 2 million tickets, the most we’ve ever sold in one day in history, and another million tickets of other artists on the same day,” Rapino continued. “So although we regret it was a slowdown in some queues and some error codes for a short period for some fans, we did manage to recover.”
“This whole concert ticket system is a mess — it’s a monopolistic mess,” Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said during the hearing.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) agreed. “I believe in capitalism, and to have a strong capitalist system, you have to have competition,” she said. “You can’t have too much consolidation – something that unfortunately for this country, as an ode to Taylor Swift, I will say we know ‘All Too Well.’”
Live Nation anticipates that ticket demand for the Renaissance tour will be high, but they’ve put some new systems in place to help avoid what happened before. 
The company wrote in an email to fans this week that the number of pre-sale registrations “already exceed the number of available tickets by more than 800%” in some locations, <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/02/03/senate-warns-ticketmaster-were-watching-beyonce-tour-sales" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per</a> The New York Post. 
“It is expected that many interested fans may not be able to get tickets because demand drastically exceeds supply,” the email said. 
Some measures used to facilitate the buying process include staggered sales and Verified Fan technology, which was also used for Swift’s concert tickets. This is done to avoid tickets being resold by third-party sites for inflated prices.

Atlantis The Royal Grand Reveal Weekend 2023 – Red Carpet Arrivals

Senate Warns Ticketmaster ‘We’re Watching’ Beyoncé Tour Ticket Sales Following Taylor Swift Debacle

Senate Warns Ticketmaster ‘We’re Watching’ Beyoncé Ticket Sales Following Taylor Swift Debacle

Beyonce

A new <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/taylor-swift" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Taylor Swift</a> music video just dropped featuring <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/transgender" target="_blank" rel="noopener">transgender</a>-identifying model Laith Ashley as Swift’s love interest.
The highly anticipated <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/music" target="_blank" rel="noopener">music video</a> for “Lavender Haze” shows the Grammy Award-winning singer enjoying a new relationship, all in a smoky purple backdrop. The video, which was written and directed by Swift, shows Ashley in the main role next to Swift as the two lounge in bed and cuddle at a party.
“The ‘Lavender Haze’ video is out now. There is lots of lavender. There is lots of haze,” Swift <a href="https://twitter.com/taylorswift13/status/1618837765269098496" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shared</a> on social media Friday morning with a teaser clip.
“There is my incredible costar @laith_ashley who I absolutely adored working with. This was the first video I wrote out of the 3 that have been released,” she continued. “This one really helped me conceptualize the world and mood of Midnights, like a sultry sleepless 70’s fever dream. Hope you like it.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Taylor Swift - Lavender Haze" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/h8DLofLM7No?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Ashley also shared about the video on social media. “Thank you so much [Taylor Swift] for allowing me to play a small part in your story. You are brilliant and this is an experience I will never forget,” the model <a href="https://twitter.com/laith_ashley" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shared</a>. 
“Still at a loss for words. Trying to gather myself and my thoughts. I am so grateful,” Ashley tweeted in a follow-up.
&#8220;Lavender Haze&#8221; is the third song off Swift&#8217;s very successful Midnights album to get a music video following videos for &#8220;Anti-Hero&#8221; and &#8220;Bejeweled.&#8221; The singer has hinted that more will be released later on.
Ashley, meanwhile, is well-known in the industry with a burgeoning modeling career. The 33-year-old has <a href="https://www.them.us/story/laith-ashley-actor-model-taylor-swift-midnights-video" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posed</a> for Diesel and Calvin Klein, and has appeared on the cover of Out magazine, Gay Times, and Vogue France. Ashley also appeared on Caitlyn Jenner’s reality show “I Am Cait” in 2016 and was a series regular on “Strut,” a short-lived series on Oxygen following the trans modeling agency Slay.
Ashley also appeared in other music videos and on television including “RuPaul’s Drag Race Pit Crew,” “Pose,” and “Unconventional.”
Swift’s inclusion of a transgender-identifying person in the music video is part of a larger trend in Hollywood and the media to increase trans representation. Recently, the fashion brand Burberry included what appeared to be a post-op trans person posing shirtless for one of their fashion ads on Instagram.
Hollywood has also been hyping the inclusion of trans-identifying stars, using their inclusion as a badge of honor in TV and movies.

2019 American Music Awards – Arrivals

Taylor Swift Cavorts With Transgender Model Laith Ashley In New ‘Lavender Haze’ Video

Taylor Swift Cavorts With Transgender Model Laith Ashley In New 'Lavender Haze' Video

Transgender

Twitter users lost it over videos of U.S. Senators from both sides of the political aisle quoting lines from Taylor Swift songs during the Ticketmaster hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
The Senate Judiciary Committee included Minnesota Democrat Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Connecticut Democrat Sen. Richard Blumenthal along with Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee, quoting lyrics from the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/taylor-swift">33-year-old</a> pop singer&#8217;s long catalog of songs.
Klobuchar said during the hearing, &#8220;To have a strong capitalist system, you have to have competition. You can&#8217;t have too much consolidation. Something that unfortunately for this country — as an ode to Taylor Swift, I will say — we know all too well.&#8221;
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“To have a strong capitalist system, you have to have competition. You can’t have too much consolidation,” Sen. Klobuchar says of Ticketmaster.
“Something that unfortunately for this country—as an ode to Taylor Swift, I will say—we know all too well.” <a href="https://t.co/PE451AFhPO">https://t.co/PE451AFhPO</a> <a href="https://t.co/o0vJ2YHExY">pic.twitter.com/o0vJ2YHExY</a>
&mdash; ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABCPolitics/status/1617906997956943874?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
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One person wrote, &#8220;This Ticketmaster hearing is taking me out. All these grown senators using Taylor Swift lyrics in their arguments is everything I didn&#8217;t know I needed.&#8221;
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This Ticketmaster hearing is taking me out. All these grown senators using Taylor Swift lyrics in their arguments is everything I didn’t know I needed. 😂 <a href="https://t.co/r7FYRfz15R">pic.twitter.com/r7FYRfz15R</a>
&mdash; Perla 🧚🏼‍♀️ (@MexicanFairyy) <a href="https://twitter.com/MexicanFairyy/status/1617953169568583680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Another person on the social media platform tweeted, &#8220;This has me rolling. The Karma quote during the Ticketmaster hearing  #TaylorSwiftTheErasTour.&#8221; The post included a clip of Lee at the hearing saying, &#8220;Karma&#8217;s a relaxing thought, aren&#8217;t you envious, that for you it&#8217;s not.&#8221;
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This has me rolling. The Karma quote during the Ticketmaster hearing 😭😂 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TaylorSwiftTheErasTour?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TaylorSwiftTheErasTour</a> <a href="https://t.co/LGiCybEuxl">pic.twitter.com/LGiCybEuxl</a>
&mdash; Gabe Kanae (@GabeKanae) <a href="https://twitter.com/GabeKanae/status/1617944307847286785?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;HE [Lee] JUST SAID TICKETMASTER IS A NIGHTMARE DRESSED LIKE A DAY DREAM YALL IM F***ING GAGGINGGGG SENND THE POLICE LMFAOOO,&#8221; another person tweeted.
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HE JUST SAID TICKETMASTER IS A NIGHTMARE DRESSED LIKE A DAY DREAM YALL IM FUCKING GAGGINGGGG SENND THE POLICE LMFAOOO <a href="https://t.co/8TKXaASllJ">pic.twitter.com/8TKXaASllJ</a>
&mdash; Gina 🌙 ✨IS SEEING TAYLOR NASHVILLE NIGHT3 SEC A (@whatamind13) <a href="https://twitter.com/whatamind13/status/1617939809938608128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
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this ticketmaster hearing is so unserious 😭 <a href="https://t.co/p5NPpmp12h">pic.twitter.com/p5NPpmp12h</a>
&mdash; jules (@tayylorde13) <a href="https://twitter.com/tayylorde13/status/1617943892447596544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
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While another shared in response to hearing Sen. Lee, &#8220;The Ticketmaster hearing is absolutely wild. I can&#8217;t believe I just heard a U.S. Senator say &#8216;karma&#8217;s a relaxing thought, aren&#8217;t you envious that for you it&#8217;s not&#8217; in a tone of voice that makes it so clear he has not listened to this song even once.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The Ticketmaster hearing is absolutely wild. I can&#39;t believe I just heard a US Senator say &quot;karma&#39;s a relaxing thought, aren&#39;t you envious that for you it&#39;s not&quot; in a tone of voice that makes it so clear he has not listened to this song even once
&mdash; Maayan 🍅 (@AgentMaayan) <a href="https://twitter.com/AgentMaayan/status/1617943223028305922?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Lmfao I really can’t <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TaylorSwift?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TaylorSwift</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ticketmaster?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Ticketmaster</a> <a href="https://t.co/A5OevfXjfa">pic.twitter.com/A5OevfXjfa</a>
&mdash; Kelly Keegs (@kellykeegs) <a href="https://twitter.com/kellykeegs/status/1617904832995786753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;This literally so funny,&#8221; one person tweeted. Their post included a clip of Blumenthal stating that &#8220;Ticketmaster had the temerity to imply that the debacle involved in pre-ticket sales was Taylor Swift&#8217;s fault because she was failing to do too many concerts. And may I suggest &#8230; Ticketmaster ought to look in the mirror and say, &#8216;I&#8217;m the problem. It&#8217;s me.'&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This literally so funny. Ticketmaster shaking when republicans and democrats are united in this “I’m the problem, it’s me” 💀 <a href="https://t.co/6IDJ4Po5VP">pic.twitter.com/6IDJ4Po5VP</a>
&mdash; Alicia (@Sleeecy) <a href="https://twitter.com/Sleeecy/status/1617925619660230657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
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They were clearly not the only ones who couldn&#8217;t believe what they were hearing in the cringeworthy moments.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
all the senators at this ticketmaster hearing after they drop a taylor swift lyric in the middle of their arguments <a href="https://t.co/0A4X0meNrM">pic.twitter.com/0A4X0meNrM</a>
&mdash; zoë begins 🪴 (@filmsbyzoe) <a href="https://twitter.com/filmsbyzoe/status/1617942793317666816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
TAYLOR SWIFT REFERENCES IN A COURTROOM WHERE TICKETMASTER IS GETTING GOT WHAT IS 2023 LIKE ACTUALLY??,/,/, <a href="https://t.co/kM9ZDksaUR">pic.twitter.com/kM9ZDksaUR</a>
&mdash; erin 💌 (taylors version) (@livoftheparty) <a href="https://twitter.com/livoftheparty/status/1617904712669605889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
government officials are literally quoting taylor swift lyrics in fighting w ticketmaster <a href="https://t.co/OdVQBWdX15">pic.twitter.com/OdVQBWdX15</a>
&mdash; Kathryn (@kathrynm_99) <a href="https://twitter.com/kathrynm_99/status/1617924676193517568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I did not have “Hearing Taylor Swift lyrics in a courtroom as she sues Ticketmaster” on my 2023 Bingo card but here we are.😂 <a href="https://t.co/UG9HkSp4fv">pic.twitter.com/UG9HkSp4fv</a>
&mdash; Tyler Roney (@TylerJRoney) <a href="https://twitter.com/TylerJRoney/status/1617916756378669056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
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And those weren&#8217;t the only lyrics that were thrown out, as the account of Taylor Swift Facts noted, posting out a list of all the songs/lyrics they heard during the Senate hearing.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Songs/Lyrics by Taylor Swift which were mentioned today at the Ticketmaster Senate hearing.
• “Anti-Hero” • “You Belong With Me” • “All Too Well” • “Shake It Off” • “Blank Space” • “Karma” • “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” <a href="https://t.co/peVzmTyUel">pic.twitter.com/peVzmTyUel</a>
&mdash; Taylor Swift Facts (@TSwiftFTC) <a href="https://twitter.com/TSwiftFTC/status/1617958014698520576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Songs/Lyrics by Taylor Swift which were mentioned today at the Ticketmaster Senate hearing,&#8221; the tweet read.
<ol>
<li>&#8220;Anti-Hero&#8221;</li>
<li>&#8220;You Belong With Me&#8221;</li>
<li>&#8220;All Too Well&#8221;</li>
<li>&#8220;Shake It Off&#8221;</li>
<li>&#8220;Blank Space&#8221;</li>
<li>&#8220;Karma&#8221;</li>
<li>&#8220;This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things&#8221;</li>
</ol>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/taylor-swift-announces-2023-eras-tour-in-us-her-first-since-2018">Taylor Swift Announces 2023 &#8216;Eras Tour&#8217; In U.S., Her First Since 2018</a>

Taylor Swift-2

Twitter Loses It Over Senators Quoting Taylor Swift Songs At Ticketmaster Hearing

Capitol Hill

Ticketmaster

Zoomers — members of Generation Z, meaning Americans born from the late 1990s to the early 2010s — aren&#8217;t big readers.
A 2019 survey by the National Literacy Trust <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/feb/29/children-reading-less-says-new-research">found</a> that just 26% of people below the age of 18 spent at least some time each day reading, the lowest level since records began in 2005.
But the Gen Z kids got a real lesson last month when they logged onto their laptops and tried to buy tickets to Taylor Swift concerts.
The presale for the singer&#8217;s upcoming Eras Tour concerts was a debacle. Ticketmaster crashed, buyers hoping to snag tickets at face value (instead of sky-high prices jacked up by after-market scalpers) were on hold for hours, and eventually, the whole mess was called off.
Lina Khan, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, said Ticketmaster&#8217;s disastrous sale reverberated in the Gen Z world. &#8220;I think this one incident ended up converting more Gen Zers into anti-monopolists overnight than anything I could have done.&#8221;
Speaking at The Wall Street Journal&#8217;s CEO Council Summit, Khan noted that the Justice Department approved the merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation in 2010, creating a monolith that controls much of the live concert ticketing and venues across America.
&#8220;There can be concerns that when firms become large they can become too big to care,&#8221; she added, saying giant firms may feel no need to invest in innovation because they do not face tough competition.
The Swift mess prompted the Department of Justice to announce it is opening a probe into the monopoly.
But Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts wrote a letter to the attorney general saying that&#8217;s not enough, noting &#8220;an investigation alone does nothing for the stakeholders already harmed by Live Nation’s market dominance and seemingly ongoing anticompetitive behavior.&#8221;
They argued the company, which controls about 60% of the market — including many of the biggest venues — &#8220;has continued to abuse its dominant market position,&#8221; and the senators said, &#8220;we urge the Department to consider unwinding the Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger and breaking up the company.&#8221;
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), one of the younger members of Congress, jumped in with some insightful observations.
&#8220;I was watching what was going on with the pre-release of Taylor Swift’s tickets,&#8221; she <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/aoc-ticketmaster-live-nation-monopoly-interview-1234634599/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Rolling Stone. &#8220;It came up on a more personal level; I actually have quite a few staff who were trying to get tickets that day.&#8221;
&#8220;Between seeing their experience and seeing all the people online talking about it, I think it really showed how widespread the problem is and reflects the degree of market consolidation in this industry,&#8221; Ocasio-Cortez continued.
&#8220;It’s getting to a point where if you want to see one of these large acts, there’s so little protection for everyday people that if you go into a secondary market, we are no longer in this realm of someone even charging double of what a ticket was,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Tickets are going as high [as tens of thousands of dollars] after what was supposed to be a presale operation designed for people who are actually going to be using the tickets that they purchase.&#8221;
Maybe Taylor Swift can tape a few lectures about communism for the Zoomers.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to josephcurl@dailywire.com and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.

2019 iHeartRadio Wango Tango Presented By The JUVÉDERM® Collection Of Dermal Fillers – Show

Ticketmaster’s Botched Sale Of Taylor Swift Tickets ‘Converted Gen Zers Into Anti-Monopolists,’ FTC Chairman Says

Ticketmaster's Botched Sale Of Taylor Swift Tickets 'Converted Gen Zers Into Anti-Monopolists,' Federal Trade Commission Chairman Says 

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried accumulated an impressive number of high-profile celebrity brand ambassadors for his <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/cryptocurrency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cryptocurrency</a> empire, but he was especially dogged in his devotion to securing a nod from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/taylor-swift" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Taylor Swift</a>.
FTX filed for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/30-year-old-billionaire-loses-entire-fortune-overnight-as-his-bahamas-based-cryptocurrency-empire-implodes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bankruptcy</a> after users discovered that the company was likely intertwined with Alameda Research, a trading firm controlled by Bankman-Fried. Among other aggressive marketing efforts, FTX solicited a number of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/from-brady-to-shaq-here-are-the-celebrities-who-lost-big-on-the-ftx-implosion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cultural icons</a> to participate in advertisements featuring the exchange platform; Taylor Swift could have joined the ranks of Golden State Warriors point guard Steph Curry and celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary, as well as Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and supermodel ex-wife Gisele Bündchen.
The singer-songwriter and the digital asset startup neared the late stages of negotiating a $100 million sponsorship deal that never came to fruition, according to a <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/2b0601e2-d371-404d-8531-227f11d4a83f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Financial Times. Discussions included a ticketing scheme based on digital certificates known as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). According to one unnamed employee, Bankman-Fried is “a fan of Tay Tay.”
Fellow executives disapproved of the idea and questioned the value of previous celebrity marketing efforts. “No one really liked the deal. It was too expensive from the beginning,” one person familiar with the negotiation told the outlet. “That’s front of the soccer jersey level prices.&#8221;
<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://get.dailywire.com/readers-pass/read-only-v2?utm_campaign=dwplus&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_source=dwsite&amp;cid=dwplus&amp;mid=z&amp;xid=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/readers-pass/read-only-v2?utm_campaign=dwplus&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_source=dwsite&amp;cid=dwplus&amp;mid=z&amp;xid=0" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-54730">TIRED OF THE LEGACY MEDIA’S BIAS CONTROLLING THE NARRATIVE AND OBSCURING THE TRUTH? JOIN US.</a>
Swift may have dodged a legal bullet even as she dodged her unlikely fan. Brady, O’Leary, and other former celebrity ambassadors are the subject of a class-action lawsuit claiming that they <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tom-brady-steph-curry-other-celebrities-sued-for-pushing-ponzi-scheme-ftx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">participated</a> in a “fraudulent scheme” against unsophisticated investors. The lawsuit contended that the brand ambassadors, many of whom received equity stakes in the company, neglected to perform “any due diligence” before marketing FTX to the public, adding that their failure to disclose “the nature, scope, and amount of compensation they personally received” in exchange for promoting FTX is “a violation of the anti-touting provisions of the federal securities laws.”
Another <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/07/sam-bankman-fried-lobbied-for-taylor-swift-deal-as-ftx-bled-cash.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from CNBC showed that Bankman-Fried was incredibly determined to cut a deal with Swift, who recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/taylor-swift-finally-breaks-silence-after-eras-tour-ticket-fiasco" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made headlines</a> for crashing Ticketmaster as millions of fans tried to purchase seats for her next tour. Three individuals close to FTX told the outlet that Bankman-Fried ignored his lieutenants’ admonitions to refrain from the sponsorship deal, despite the company’s worsening business environment.
Bankman-Fried, who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/left-of-center-media-accepted-millions-from-democrat-donor-and-disgraced-crypto-wunderkind-sam-bankman-fried" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cultivated a public image</a> as an unkempt and easygoing young executive, was reportedly “insular” in his leadership style, blaming underlings for his mistakes when angry and lecturing dissenting employees, according to CNBC. The would-be wunderkind allegedly ignored messages from top executives if he disagreed with them and avoided face-to-face confrontations. He lived in a luxury penthouse in the Bahamas with a handful of FTX employees who may have been part of a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/amphetamine-fueled-polycule-or-undersexed-group-of-nerds-inside-ftxs-bahamas-culture" target="_blank" rel="noopener">romantic network</a> called a “polycule.”
The 30-year-old former billionaire told CNBC that he disagrees with the description of his leadership style, but did not offer comment on his desire to collaborate with Swift. “Partnerships were an area that was more contentious and on the margin I originally was in favor and ultimately started pushing back on new ones,” he remarked.
FTX emerged three years ago as an overnight success. Headquartered in the Bahamas and incorporated in Antigua and Barbuda, multiple leaders within the cryptocurrency empire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/here-are-the-democrats-and-republicans-who-received-campaign-cash-linked-to-bankrupt-crypto-empire-ftx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">donated extensively</a> to Democratic and Republican campaigns. Bankman-Fried was the second-largest contributor to the Biden campaign during the 2020 election cycle and the sixth-largest overall contributor during the recent midterm elections.

Collage Maker-07-Dec-2022-03.17-PM

Sam Bankman-Fried Was A ‘Fan Of Tay Tay,’ Badly Wanted Her To Sign $100 Million Marketing Deal With FTX

Sam Bankman-Fried Wanted Taylor Swift As A Brand Ambassador

Business

Crime

Cryptocurrency

Money

Sam Bankman-Fried

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/taylor-swift">Taylor Swift</a> tour drama continues as fans are now suing Live Nation Entertainment for breach of contract and fraud following the presale fiasco for her “Eras Tour” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/music">tickets</a>.
News of the Ticketmaster website crashing and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/entertainment">fans</a> waiting hours to secure tickets they pre-registered for made headlines following the presale event on November 15 and 16. The general sale scheduled for November 18 wound up getting canceled due to “extraordinarily high demands on ticket systems” and “insufficient remaining ticket inventory.”
Now fans are coming together to sue Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation, for the events that unfolded, per <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/taylor-swift-fans-sue-ticketmaster-fumbled-presale-rcna60014">NBC News</a>.
The plaintiffs accuse the company of breach of contract, intentional misrepresentation, fraud, fraudulent inducement, and antitrust violations. They are seeking a penalty of $2,500 against Ticketmaster for every violation of the Business and Professions Code, section 17200, NBC noted.
<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus?utm_campaign=dwplus&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_source=dwsite&amp;cid=dwplus&amp;mid=z&amp;xid=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus?utm_campaign=dwplus&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_source=dwsite&amp;cid=dwplus&amp;mid=z&amp;xid=0" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">TIRED OF THE LEGACY MEDIA’S BIAS CONTROLLING THE NARRATIVE AND OBSCURING THE TRUTH? JOIN US AND SAVE 30%.</a>
“Based on information and belief, Ticketmaster has effectuated this anticompetitive scheme by forcing fans of musicians to exclusively use Ticketmaster for presale and sales prices, which are above what a competitive market price would be,” the lawsuit says. 
“Ticketmaster has also forced attendees to exclusively use Ticketmaster’s ‘Secondary Ticket Exchange’—i.e., the platform Ticketmaster operates for the resale of concert tickets.”
Plaintiffs also accuse Ticketmaster of “intentionally and purposefully” tricking customers by allowing “scalpers and bots” to attain codes for the presale. They further allege that the company was fully aware the general sale would be canceled due to demand.
“We believe that both Taylor Swift and her fans were hurt by Ticketmaster,” attorney Jennifer Kinder said in a statement, per NBC. “Ticketmaster messed with the wrong fan base.”
Meanwhile, Ticketmaster had previously stated that it did not anticipate the demand for “Eras Tour” tickets. The company said that 3.5 million fans pre-registered for the Verified Fan program, the largest registration in its history, and that 2.4 million tickets were sold in the presale. 
“Even when a high demand on sale goes flawlessly from a tech perspective, many fans are left empty handed,” the company said. “For example: based on the volume of traffic to our site, Taylor would need to perform over 900 stadium shows (almost 20x the number of shows she is doing)… that’s a stadium show every single night for the next 2.5 years.”
Swift also addressed the situation, sympathizing with fans who wanted tickets but could not get them. 
“Well it goes without saying that I’m extremely protective of my fans,” the “Anti-Hero” singer <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/taylor-swift-finally-breaks-silence-after-eras-tour-ticket-fiasco">shared</a>. “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,” she continued. “There are a multitude of reasons why people had such a hard time trying to get tickets and I’m trying to figure out how this situation can be improved moving forward. I’m not going to make excuses for anyone because we asked them multiple times if they could handle this kind of demand and we were assured they could.”
“It’s truly amazing that 2.4 million people got tickets, but it really pisses me off that a lot of them feel like they went through several bear attacks to get them,” Swift concluded. “And to those who didn’t get tickets, all I can say is that my hope is to provide more opportunities for us to all get together and sing these songs.”

Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, SZA And Becky G Perform at The Prime Day Concert, Presented by Amazon Music

Taylor Swift Fans Sue Live Nation Over ‘Eras Tour’ Ticket Presale Fiasco

Taylor Swift Fans Sue Live Nation Over 'Eras Tour' Ticket Presale Fiasco

Lawsuit

In politics nowadays, there&#8217;s this general feeling that anybody from the party you don&#8217;t support is wrong, wrong, wrong.
But that&#8217;s silly, right? Even a broken clock is right twice a day. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut. And nobody is wrong 100% of the time.
Take Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Democratic socialist from New York. She&#8217;s wrong about a lot &#8212; but not everything.
The young and hip AOC weighed in over the weekend on the Ticketmaster brouhaha. To refresh your memory, the concert ticket monopoly burst into the news last week during the sale of Taylor Swift tix, leaving thousands of fans frustrated and prompting scalpers to jack their prices into the tens of thousands.
Buying tickets for sports and music events has long been a joke. Even for the largest venues, tickets sell out online in minutes. Then they reappear on sites like SeatGeek and StubHub, but now that $35 ticket costs $300. And then there are the fees &#8212; the service fee, facility charge, order processing fee, and the ever-popular convenience fee.
AOC&#8217;s got it just right &#8212; and she correctly calls the company a &#8220;monopoly.&#8221;
&#8220;I was watching what was going on with the pre-release of Taylor Swift’s tickets,&#8221; she told <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/aoc-ticketmaster-live-nation-monopoly-interview-1234634599/">Rolling Stone</a>. &#8220;It came up on a more personal level; I actually have quite a few staff who were trying to get tickets that day. Between seeing their experience and seeing all the people online talking about it, I think it really showed how widespread the problem is and reflects the degree of market consolidation in this industry.&#8221;
She&#8217;s spot on. Ticketmaster and Live Nation merged in 2010, and it&#8217;s been a mess ever since. Ticketmaster controls the tickets and Live Nation often owns the venue, which means they&#8217;re 100% in control. Don&#8217;t like it, tough, don&#8217;t go to the show.
&#8220;One of the things we’ve been increasingly seeing,&#8221; AOC said, &#8220;is that these price increases because of inflation and abuse of market power are due to market consolidation. It’s gotten so bad that we’re really seeing it affect our everyday lives, from how much we’re paying at grocery stores, to not being able to see our favorite artists without paying an arm and a leg.&#8221;
The Swift mess prompted the Department of Justice to announce it is opening a probe into the monopoly.
But Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts wrote a letter to the attorney general saying that&#8217;s not enough, noting &#8220;an investigation alone does nothing for the stakeholders already harmed by Live Nation’s market dominance and seemingly ongoing anticompetitive behavior.&#8221;
They said the company, which controls about 60% of the market &#8212; including many of the biggest venues &#8212; &#8220;has continued to abuse its dominant market position,&#8221; adding, &#8220;we urge the Department to consider unwinding the Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger and breaking up the company.&#8221;
AOC once again nailed the exact problem. &#8220;It’s getting to a point where if you want to see one of these large acts, there’s so little protection for everyday people that if you go into a secondary market, we are no longer in this realm of someone even charging double of what a ticket was. Tickets are going as high [as tens of thousands of dollars] after what was supposed to be a presale operation designed for people who are actually going to be using the tickets that they purchase.&#8221;
And she was right again here.
&#8220;Other industries have oligopolies; Live Nation is a true monopoly. And it’s affecting our culture if regular people can’t even see a live show for a major act in person anymore, and this just becomes a domain for the wealthy. I think that that’s also something to consider, because If you can’t even see your favorite artists without paying [the equivalent of] a down payment on a house or a car, it’s so antithetical to what music really is,&#8221; she said.
One hundred percent right, congresswoman!
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to josephcurl@dailywire.com and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.

IowaSanders

Wait, Hear Me Out Here: AOC Is Exactly Right This Time

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Is Exactly Right This Time On Breaking Up Ticketmaster-Live Nation Monopoly

Congress

Politics

Rolling Stone

Taylor Swift blasted into the headlines last week, but not for the reason you&#8217;d think.
The singer ripped Ticketmaster for a debacle over the sale of concert tickets for her new tour, which completely crashed at one point and led to scalpers posting tickets for upwards of $50,000.
The whole thing was a fustercluck. First, fans had to sign up for Ticketmaster&#8217;s Verified Fan program just for a chance to score tickets. But even those fans hit error messages and long waits. Then, when they were finally able to buy tickets, the system wouldn&#8217;t accept their presale code or credit card information.
Eventually, Ticketmaster was forced to cancel the sale, claiming it had experienced &#8220;historically unprecedented demand.&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s truly amazing that 2.4 million people got tickets, but it really pisses me off that a lot of them feel like they went through several bear attacks to get them,&#8221; Swift said in a social media <a href="https://www.inc.com/jason-aten/taylor-swifts-3-paragraph-response-to-ticketmaster-debacle-is-a-masterclass-in-owning-your-brand.html">post</a>.
Buying tickets nowadays to concerts or sporting event borders on the criminal. Ticketmaster and Live Nation own many of the venues and have the exclusive right for ticket sales. Me, I think they also cash in via the secondhand market for tickets, like StubHub and SeatGeek, where tickets with a face value of $35 often sell for hundreds, even thousands of dollars (but there&#8217;s no evidence of that).
I feel sad for the young people of today. Going to catch a National Football League game for a family of four costs at least a thousand dollars (and that&#8217;s just for decent seats, not front row on the 50-yard line). And catching your favorite band often costs a couple hundred dollars — assuming you don&#8217;t get the tickets the minute they go on sale (a rare accomplishment these days).
Back in my day, tickets costs next to nothing. I saw The Rolling Stones back in 1975, shortly after they released their now classic album, &#8220;It&#8217;s Only Rock &#8216;n Roll.&#8221; The ticket cost $9.50. Sure, that&#8217;s $51.01 in today&#8217;s dollars, <a href="https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm">according</a> to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, but it ain&#8217;t hundreds of thousands.
<div id="attachment_466530" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-466530" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-466530 size-large" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/IMG_5502-1024x570.jpg" alt="Rolling Stones ticket 1975" width="1024" height="570" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/IMG_5502-1024x570.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/IMG_5502-300x167.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/IMG_5502-768x428.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/IMG_5502-1536x856.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/IMG_5502-2048x1141.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Joseph Curl/The Daily Wire</div>
When I caught the Stones in Philly last year (they didn&#8217;t play D.C. and I&#8217;ve seen them in the 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s and 10s so I needed a 20s show), I paid more than $600 for after-market tickets (and again, just for decent seats). And don&#8217;t get me started on the endless fees (a service fee, facility charge, order processing fee, and that absurdly named &#8220;convenience&#8221; fee), which sometimes cost as much as the ticket.
Let&#8217;s take the upcoming Rod Wave concert at the Capital One Center in D.C. Tickets in a nosebleed section about as far away as you can be from the stage run $158.75, so that&#8217;s $317.50 for a pair. But then this:
<ul>
<li>Service Fee: $24.10 x 2 = $48.20</li>
<li>Facility Charge: $4.00 x 2 = $8.00</li>
<li>Order Processing Fee = $6.00</li>
</ul>
Total, $379.70. Want to actually see him? A pair of seats down on the floor (not front row, mind you) will cost you nearly $840.
Finally, someone&#8217;s going do something about this mess (watch this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-HCqL38WdY&amp;t=7s">video</a> for more insight).
&#8220;The Justice Department has opened an antitrust investigation into the owner of Ticketmaster, whose sale of Taylor Swift concert tickets descended into chaos this week, said two people with knowledge of the matter,&#8221; The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/18/technology/live-nation-ticketmaster-investigation-taylor-swift.html">reported</a> over the weekend. &#8220;The investigation is focused on whether Live Nation Entertainment has abused its power over the multibillion-dollar live music industry.&#8221;
&#8220;That power has been in the spotlight after Ticketmaster’s systems crashed while Ms. Swift fans were trying to buy tickets in a presale for her tour, but the investigation predates the botched sale, the people said,&#8221; the Times said.
Live Nation defended itself in a <a href="https://www.livenationentertainment.com/2022/11/a-statement-from-live-nation-entertainment-2/">statement</a>.
&#8220;The concert promotion business is highly competitive, with artist management in control of selecting their promoting team. The demand for live entertainment continues to grow, and there are more promoters than ever working with artists to help them connect with fans through live shows. The Department of Justice itself recognized the competitive nature of the concert promotion business at the time of the Live Nation-Ticketmaster merger. That dynamic has not changed,&#8221; Live Nation said.
Back in my day, if you wanted tickets, you had to go to the ticket seller and buy them. That seemed to work. And some bands have figured out ways to sell tickets to their fans at a reasonable price (in their heyday, Fall Out Boy played the small 930 Club venue in D.C. and concertgoers had to present ID and the credit card they used to get the tickets, but then had to go straight in, thus no resale of tickets at all).
Let&#8217;s hope the DOJ actually follows through on its probe, but most likely, nothing will happen. And that&#8217;s just sad.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to josephcurl@dailywire.com and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.

2022 American Music Awards – Inside

Ticketmaster, Live Nation Are A Joke. Break Up Their Monopoly.

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