Did AOC Prompt A Justice Department Investigation Over A Taylor Swift Concert?

The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) is investigating whether Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation Entertainment Inc LYV, has abused its power.

The announcement of the investigation is leaving some to wonder if Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), aka AOC, prompted the investigation over her calls to break up the “monopoly” following the significant failure of Taylor Swift’s pre-sale concert tickets.

What Happened: Fans who anxiously waited for the presale of Taylor Swift’s upcoming "Eras Tour" tickets were met with Ticketmaster’s site being down just before the presale began. DownDetector showed a surge in reports just after 8 a.m. EST on Tuesday.

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“Daily reminder that Ticketmaster is a monopoly, its merger with LiveNation should never have been approved, and they need to be reigned in,” AOC said on Tuesday when chaos initially descended on Ticketmaster following a swell of fans waiting in the queue. “Break them up,” the representative continued.

The scheduled open-to-the-public sale for the "Eras Tour" was canceled, according to Ticketmaster and was revealed on Thursday.

“That was fast,” AOC tweeted, quoting a New York Times tweet that announced the investigation.

Despite the timeliness of the investigation, Live Nation and Ticketmaster had been investigated by the DOJ's antitrust section for some months. According to the inquiry, Live Nation may have a monopoly over the industry, which is exactly what AOC said.

Why It Matters: The "Eras Tour" fiasco is the most recent incident in which Live Nation had come under fire. There have also been similar uproars and hassles with wait times and ticket price markups for performers such as Bruce Springsteen and Harry Styles.

In September, Styles fans waited hours in line only to be sent to the back of the line after waiting their time.

Fans trying to get Springsteen tickets in June encountered site-wide disruptions.

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Photo: Eva Rinaldi via Flickr Creative Commons