Sales for Taylor Swift tour cause more frustration than satisfied fans

Fans were so eager to get a seat that they crashed Ticketmaster -- the only company selling tickets firsthand -- on Tuesday. Many people who had early access codes were unable to get through.

People were met with similar issues Wednesday, and by the time many got a chance to buy a ticket, they were sold out. Tickets on the secondhand market were selling for as much as $70,000 a seat.

New York made an effort earlier this year to prevent ticketing companies like Ticketmaster from taking advantage of buyers by requiring them to put all hidden fees upfront, but the current laws were no match for local fans hoping to see their idol live on stage.

Ticketmaster said there was an unprecedented demand for Swift tickets, and hundreds of thousands had already been sold.

News 12 reached out to them for comment but has not heard back.

State Sen. James Skoufis, who wrote the law banning companies from charging hidden fees for live event tickets, tells News 12 he's pushing several new bills to prevent another ticket disaster.

"Until lawmakers and regulators finally stand up for fans as opposed to standing up for a monopoly. Nothing is going to change," he says.

Earlier this year, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed Skoufis' bill into law requiring ticket companies to show all fees upfront.

It was a good first step but not enough, according to Skoufis.

"They know that there's no place else to turn if folks don't like what's going on with how expensive the tickets are, how expensive the fees are, and what artists are allowed to perform at certain venues," he says.

He's pushing the Legislature to consider several bills this session that would fundamentally change the ticketing industry.

The bills include ticket selling proposals, limiting holdbacks, capping fees and bot data reporting.

A to Ticketmaster spokesperson released the following information:

“We support industry-wide reforms to bring more clarity to ticket buyers and believe more can be done to aid artists in delivering their tickets to fans at price points they determine. We worked collaboratively with New York policymakers to support all-in pricing legislation.”

Additional Background Information

We believe there are more ways to improve the ticketing industry. Here’s a look at what we advocated to the FTC in 2019. All-In Pricing – so that fans can see total price ahead of purchase (We also supported and advocated for all-in pricing legislation that just passed in New York State, and hope to see this law extended across the nation.)Resale tickets showing the original price paidBan on speculative ticket selling so ticket buyers aren’t tricked into buying something that isn’t legitBan of deceptive sites that mischaracterize their relationship with Event Organizers and confuse consumersEnforcement of federal and state anti-BOT Regulations so bad actors are held accountable when they break the lawEvent creators having the ability to control or limit transfer of tickets so that they can deliver tickets to real fans at lower prices than market value and not have them resold at significantly higher prices on secondary
All-In Pricing – so that fans can see total price ahead of purchase (We also supported and advocated for all-in pricing legislation that just passed in New York State, and hope to see this law extended across the nation.)
Resale tickets showing the original price paid
Ban on speculative ticket selling so ticket buyers aren’t tricked into buying something that isn’t legit
Ban of deceptive sites that mischaracterize their relationship with Event Organizers and confuse consumers
Enforcement of federal and state anti-BOT Regulations so bad actors are held accountable when they break the law
Event creators having the ability to control or limit transfer of tickets so that they can deliver tickets to real fans at lower prices than market value and not have them resold at significantly higher prices on secondary

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