After Ticketmaster fumbled its sales of Taylor Swift’s Eras stadium tour tickets, the company blamed “bot attacks” and fans for the meltdown.
Now members of Congress are asking the Federal Trade Commission whether it plans to enforce a 2016 law designed to fight such “attacks.”
Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the ranking member and chair, respectively, of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Data Security, wrote a letter Monday to the FTC asking whether the commission will invoke the Better Online Ticket Sales Act, or BOTS Act.
Signed into law in 2016, the BOTS Act gives the government the authority to crack down on those who misuse bots — software applications that are programmed to run automated tasks online — to buy large amounts of tickets for profit. These brokers often run ticket bots that automatically suck up huge swaths of tickets as soon as they go on sale.
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Those tickets are then sold on third-party sites, often for much higher prices. The law bans the resale of tickets bought using bots, and people who illegally sell the tickets face a $16,000 fine.
“While bots may not be the only reason for these problems, which Congress is evaluating, fighting bots is an important step in reducing consumer costs in the online ticketing industry,” Blackburn and Blumenthal wrote.
Peter Kaplan, a spokesman for the FTC, said the agency received the letter but declined to comment further.
Taylor Swift in January 2020 at the Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California.
When Ticketmaster announced it had canceled sales of Swift concert tickets to the public after a series of presales, it blamed “the staggering number of bot attacks as well as fans who didn’t have invite codes,” saying that it “drove unprecedented traffic on our site, resulting in 3.5 billion total system requests — 4x our previous peak.”
While the letter pointed specifically to Ticketmaster’s Swift debacle, the senators also pointed to other recent examples, such as consumers reportedly trying to buy tickets to see Bob Dylan perform in Nashville this past March, only to be told that the tickets in their shopping cart no longer existed. The letter also cited a separate incident where 22,000 fans registered to buy Blake Shelton tickets but only a few hundred people walked away with them.
The letter goes on to point to wild markups at third-party sites with some listings as high as $1,000 for a Bruce Springsteen concert and $40,000 to see Adele.
“Preventing this type of consumer harm is exactly why Congress chose to enact the BOTS Act six years ago and why we both chose to sponsor that bill,” the letter read.
The FTC has cracked down on individuals using bots in the past. This past January, the FTC announced it planned to issue a $31 million penalty against three New York-based ticket brokers whom the commission accused of using bots to buy up tens of thousands of tickets for concerts and sporting events, then making millions by reselling them to fans at higher prices.
The letter acknowledged the January case, which was the first use of the BOTS Act, but asked the FTC why it hasn’t done more to enforce against other possible cases of bot use.
The Swift fiasco also reignited criticism of Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation Entertainment, the world’s largest concert promoter. The two companies merged in 2010, prompting fears that the resulting company would have a stranglehold on ticket sales and other parts of the music business.
Crew One stagehands are not subject to the contracts Live Nation has signed with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, or IATSE, for shows in which Live Nation is the direct employer.
Ticketmaster has long faced criticism for the fees it charges consumers, and there has been political pressure for antitrust officials to get involved.
Last week, other members of Congress — Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., a longtime critic of Ticketmaster and Live Nation, and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah — announced they would hold a hearing on the impact of Ticketmaster’s dominant grip on the ticketing industry and “how consolidation in the live entertainment and ticketing industry harms customers and artists alike.”
“When there is no competition to incentivize better services and fair prices, we all suffer the consequences,” Klobuchar said.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., tweeted earlier this month that she thinks the company needs to be broken up.
A Justice Department antitrust investigation into Live Nation Entertainment was made public earlier this month. It seeks to determine whether Live Nation has abused its power over the live-music industry.
In 2019, the Justice Department was gearing up for a long legal battle against Live Nation over allegations that it coerced concert venues into working with its Ticketmaster division.
Live Nation settled by agreeing to extend some terms of its 2010 merger that were supposed to ensure fair competition in the ticketing marketplace and prohibit Live Nation from retaliating against venue owners that decided to defect to competitors.
8 new holiday albums to add to your playlist this year
2022 holiday album guide
The Associated Press reviews a roundup of albums of new Christmas — and Hanukkah — music from Alicia Keys, Chris Isaak, Pentatonix, Backstreet Boys and more. Reviewer Martina Inchingolo says Alicia Keys’ album is “cheeky and cozy” and Armstrong’s “Louis Wishes You a Cool Yule” is the best Christmas present for his fans. Reviewer Scott Stroud said Isaak brings the rockabilly to Christmas classics. Unwrap a new record that you’ll be thankful for.
So pull out the record player, light some candles and get festive — and thankful for new music.
Alicia Keys, “Santa Baby” (Alicia Keys Records)
Alicia Keys’ Christmas album debut “Santa Baby” is as cheeky, cozy and captivating, as the classic it is named after.
For a holiday fanatic like me, there is nothing more heartwarming than Christmas songs. However, Keys is able to take a holiday favorite and improve it with her vocals and R&B twist.
So, like a square of butter over a freshly baked tower of pancakes, my heart sweetly melts into a sugary puddle.
The 15-time Grammy winner wraps those beloved old Christmas songs with originals, sure to join the pantheon of the glorious jolly songs. In the music video for the song, “December Back 2 June,” a joyous Alicia Keys wears bubble ponytails and a metallic suit, singing “Christmas is all the time when I’m with you.”
Ending with “Ave Maria,” the artist risks it all, by taking a slow classic and adding a soul vibe with a recurring drum beat that makes an already solemn song into something fresh and beautiful.
Like that perfect black sweater in your wardrobe, this album goes with everything, whether you’re feeling like snuggling under a blanket drinking hot tea or preparing yourself for a winter date. This album has it all: The sexy, the homey and the nostalgic.
— Martina Inchingolo
Chris Isaak, “Everybody Knows It’s Christmas” (Sun Records/Virgin UMG)
Fresh off a lifetime achievement award from the Americana Music Association, singer Chris Isaak is in a festive mood. It only makes sense that his next project would be a holiday album.
Isaak and his backup band, who are touring behind the album, take up familiar tunes like “Winter Wonderland” and “Jingle Bell Rock” with exuberant style, but they also dial up rockabilly cuts like “Run Rudolph Run” and an original called “Almost Christmas” that fits right in. There’s not an earworm in the bunch, which can be a rarity for a holiday album.
Isaak’s music can feel lightweight, but he succeeds by never taking himself too seriously. He always seems to do things just for the fun of it, and this album is no exception. And hey, isn’t Christmas supposed to be fun?
— Scott Stroud
“Pickin’ On Christmas,” Davis Causey & Jay Smith (Strolling Bones Records)
More than two decades after it was recorded, “Pickin’ On Christmas” again makes a lovely holiday gift.
In 1998, Athens, Georgia, guitarists Davis Causey and Jay Smith found themselves with little money for presents, so they recorded an album of eight instrumentals for a limited run of 100 CDs, and gave them to friends and family.
Now the set is available on the Strolling Bones label, and it’s full of good cheer and interesting interplay.
With the help of overdubs, Causey and Smith trade licks and engage in creative counterpoint to generate plenty of winter warmth. The festive mash-up “Silver Bells/Silent Night” settles into a boogie rhythm pushed by drummer Jeff Reilly, and features what sounds like at least five guitars. Another innovative interpretation, “We Three Kings/God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” combines funky syncopation with three guitars improvising simultaneously.
There’s plenty of variety. The one original tune, the serene “Following a Star,” includes a synth guitar part by Causey that sounds like a cello, while Randall Bramblett contributes a sprightly soprano sax part on “What Child Is This?” “Little Drummer Boy” mixes Causey’s resonator guitar and Smith’s classical guitar, and several cuts feature blue notes and other jazz colors.
Causey has become a model of longevity, his 60-year career highlighted by work with Kris Kristofferson, Marvin Gaye and Waylon Jennings, among many others. Smith died shortly after these tunes were recorded, which makes the album a poignant holiday celebration of musical kinship.
— Steven Wine
Joss Stone, “Merry Christmas, Love” (S-Curve Records)
Soul singer Joss Stone has released her first album of Christmas songs, to which the only natural reaction is: Why did it take so long to get these chestnuts roasting?
Though she has a Ferrari engine, her restraint is admirable, letting the song shine, like one of the prettiest versions of “In The Bleak Midwinter” you’ll ever hear and an absolutely joyous take on Irving Berlin’s “Snow.”
Stone shows exquisite control and tone on “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and leaves the beauty of “Away in a Manger” unadorned. One of the new ones, “If You Believe,” borrows a beat from “The Little Drummer Boy” but soars, at the end unleashing that Ferrari.
The album ends with a tricky one — “Silent Night.” And Stone absolutely smashes it, with sonic fireworks. This collection needs to be on repeat this holiday — and next.
— Mark Kennedy
Debbie Gibson, “Winterlicious” (Stargirl Records)
Writing your own Christmas songs must be a daunting, task but that hasn’t stopped Debbie Gibson. Thank goodness.
The singer who gave us “Only in My Dreams” offers “Winterlicious,” her first ever holiday album. It’s an eclectic set, mixing classics with originals, including a duet with her dad, a new Hanukkah song — big points for inclusion, Ms. Gibson — and ends with an emotional and super New Year’s Eve song, “Cheers.”
One highlight is a rare Christmas break-up song — she and New Kids on the Block’s Joey McIntyre co-wrote the terrific “Heartbreak Holiday.” Other Gibson originals like ”Jingle Those Bells,” “Christmas Star” and “Christmas Dreams” deserve to be on your holiday rotation and her cover of “The Candy Man” is a great showcase for her Broadway-ready voice.
The duet with Joe Gibson on “White Christmas” is painful — sorry, dad — but the driving, over-the-top and maybe even naughty arrangement of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” goes down well. This is an album that’s got something for everyone.
— Mark Kennedy
Backstreet Boys, “A Very Backstreet Christmas” (BMG)
Backstreet Boys have released their first Christmas album and you can thank the pandemic for that.
During lockdown, while everyone was busy baking and working out from home, the boy band was harmonizing jolly classics.
They bring a nostalgic boy band pop twist to beloved songs like “White Christmas,” “Winter Wonderland” and “Last Christmas,” while slow staples, like “Silent Night” and “O Holy Night,” give the singers a chance to show off their angelic voices.
In addition, the band gifts their fans with their own original Christmas song “Happy Days.” They sing “We’re gonna party like it’s ’99,” and, honestly, there probably isn’t a more early 2000s pop holiday song than this.
While the album is offering a vast option of well-known classics, the band makes each song its own.
So, being a big Christmas enthusiast won’t just do it, you have to commit to that cheesy and sentimental pop beat. While I doubt that whoever is not into the boy band genre will curiously stumble into this album, the hardcore fans will definitely be satisfied.
— Martina Inchingolo
Pentatonix, “Holidays Around the World” (RCA Records)
In what is becoming a steadfast holiday tradition, Pentatonix is back with new music on a new holiday album. The five-member acapella group released “Holidays Around the World,” which explores collaborations with musicians from different cultures around the world.
Each track highlighted the cultures of the different featured artists on the album. Collaborations include Lang Lang, Shreya Ghoshal, Hiba Tawaji, La Santa Cecilia, Lea Salonga and more.
Pentatonix continues to put their own twists on traditional holiday classics, as they have successfully done in past holiday albums. The standouts are “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” and “Last Christmas” (feat. HIKAKIN & SEIKIN).
Out of the original songs on the album, “Kid on Christmas” (feat. Meghan Trainor) was the clear pop hit with its upbeat chorus. While Christmas seems to be the main holiday celebrated in this album, the uplifting melodies or jolly lyrics in each track will put audiences in the holiday spirit.
— Karena Phan
Louis Armstrong, “Louis Wishes You a Cool Yule” (Verve Records)
If Mariah Carey is the queen of Christmas music, then make space for its king, Louis Armstrong.
Fifty years since the legendary artist passed away, his fans received the best Christmas present they could wish for. Months before his death, the musician recorded himself reciting the poem “A Visit from St Nicholas” (also popularly known as “The Night Before Christmas”).
Now, the never before released recording, featuring Armstrong’s growly, familiar voice, is accompanied by a musical underbed from New Orleans pianist, Sullivan Fortner.
The track is part of Louis Armstrong’s first Christmas album called “Louis Wishes You a Cool Yule.” Including nine holiday classics recorded by the artist, plus his memorable masterpiece “What a Wonderful World.”
The musician’s work has been proven to pass the test of time and it’s still able to this day to keep that naïve and childish glow in us from dimming. With this festive album, we get to hold on to that feeling for a little longer and get back to it at every re-listen.
So, as he reads in the new track: “Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night . . . A very good night.”
— Martina Inchingolo
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