Jack Antonoff Reiterates Ticketmaster Situation Wasn’t Taylor Swift’s Fault: ‘Everyone’s Gotta Chill on the Artists’

Music fans aren’t the only ones who are dissatisfied with Ticketmaster’s concert ticket buying process. Producer and artist Jack Antonoff recently shared what he thinks the company needs to do following pal Taylor Swift‘s issues selling tickets for her upcoming Eras Tour. 

How Taylor Swift and her Eras Tour started a backlash against Ticketmaster

Last year, tickets for Swift’s highly-anticipated Eras Tour went on sale, but fans’ excitement about the shows soon soured. Many fans who had received what they were told were exclusive pre-sale codes from Ticketmaster were locked out of the site and unable to even try to purchase tickets. 

Once the pre-sale ended, Ticketmaster announced that they had sold out of all tickets. This meant the regular sale for fans who did not receive codes was canceled. Many took to social media to express their anger at the company. The issue was even brought up on Capitol Hill during a Senate hearing about the Ticketmaster-Live Nation monopoly. 

Jack Antonoff slams Ticketmaster for high prices

Many artists have also shared their displeasure with the way concert tickets are sold today, including Antonoff. While attending this year’s Grammys, where he won Producer of the Year, he revealed what he thinks needs to happen to fix the situation. 

“If I can go online and buy a car and have it delivered to my house, why can’t I buy a f****** ticket at the price that the artist wants it to be?” Antonoff said. “It’s that simple.”

The Bleachers star stressed that the fault lay with Ticketmaster and not the artists. “Everyone’s got to chill on the artists,” he said. “We know who’s making [ticket-buying] impossible.” He then lay out the three steps he thinks need to happen to make purchasing tickets easier for fans. 

What Jack Antonoff thinks needs to happen to end the difficult ticket-buying process

Firstly, Antonoff called for an end to “dynamic pricing.” This Ticketmaster feature drives up the price of tickets as demand gets higher. He also asked that the company let artists set the price for their tickets.

“Don’t turn a live show into a free market,” Antonoff explained. “That’s really dirty.” The artist said that fans need to be charged a fair price for tickets.

Antonoff also wants to end the practice of taxing merchandise. Venues take a percentage of the revenue that comes from the sale of merchandise. Since these products are designed, produced, and transported by the artist and their team, it doesn’t make sense for the venues to get a cut. 

“The second everything fluctuates is the second it goes K-shaped and turns into a weird free market,” Antonoff explained. He’s referring to the economic concept of a K-shaped market, where the rich have more access to high incomes, jobs, and luxury goods, while lower-income individuals lose that access. 

Senators call for Ticketmaster to be broken up after the Taylor Swift controversy

The Senate’s hearing discussed the monopoly that Ticketmaster-Live Nation holds in the concert ticket-buying world. Many senators advocated for the company to be broken up. The attorneys general of many states have launched consumer protection investigations as well, while some Swift fans have sued Ticketmaster for fraud and antitrust violations.