Ticketmaster Finds Unlikely Allies Amid Taylor Swift Concert Drama

Several bands and artists have come forward to defend Ticketmaster amid the Taylor Swift concert drama.

In a statement posted to her Instagram Stories, the "Bad Blood" singer admitted “There is 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."

In addition to the difficulty getting tickets, many people complained about the price of tickets due to Ticketmaster's dynamic pricing tool and the inflated cost of tickets from third-party ticket sale sites. Although many fans are unhappy with the situation, M. Shadows, the frontman of Avenged Sevenfold, took to Twitter to defend the company, which is currently under federal investigation.

In a lengthy Twitter thread, M. Shadows told his fans, "If you think Ticketmaster sets the price of tickets… you’re wrong - the artists does. If the supply is 52 stadiums but the demand is 900 stadiums (per NYT’s) you don’t automatically deserve a ticket because you are a fan. Demand exceeded supply!"

"Per dynamic pricing…. Artists have watched front row tickets go for 10x-20x face value from scalpers but see none of the upside. Ask yourself if that is fair. It may suck… but is it fair?" he asked. "Leave it to grandstanding politicians to get involved in something they know nothing about…. And leave it to artists to shrug their shoulders and point the blame."

Although this is a sensitive topic, M. Shadows stuck around to respond to multiple users who commented on his post, each offering a different perspective. "My guy, I would pay the most obscene prices required to see Avenged Sevenfold from the front row (and I have - 2011 Uproar Camden NJ) But 78% of the fees are going to Ticketmaster," one user commented. "They also encourage scalpers and bots to jack up the dynamic price of tickets."

"78% of fees because they are paying artists 100% of the door," the 41-year-old singer responded. "Music seems to be the only industry where it's not fair to charge what people are willing to pay."

Another user said that the “Critical Acclaim” singer was being “very misleading,” adding, “The artist may set the initial price, but then 3rd party platforms allows them to be flipped / ‘dynamic pricing’ happens and the ticket price increases. This is not the artist. This is ticket scalping and should be illegal.”

“You’re talking about 2 different things… Dynamic pricing in opted in by the artists and they see the upside,” he responded. “You may be talking about after the ticket is sold to a scalper they can raise the price out of the artists control. Dynamic pricing was introduced for artist.”

When another user asked if it was “reasonable” for a fan to pay $68,000 for a ticket, he replied, "Thats an extreme example but whats being missed here is this is a free market… if they actually sell that ticket for 68k then it was in fact the right price. People are confusing extreme demand and supply here."

Another fan commented, "Considering how many fans get to steam artists music for free, this is the correct way for artists to make up for the lost earnings from record sales. The concert is now the main product and the album is now a marketing tool."

M. Shadows replied, "I didn't wanna say it..."