Music
Taylor Swift Fans Want Ticketmaster Cancelled
Taylor Swift’s next US concert tour tickets have yet to go on sale to the general public, but many fans hoping to see her in concert have already been disappointed by Ticketmaster.
Nancy Abulmagd, a mother of an 11-year-old daughter and friends, spent hours in a virtual line with thousands of other people, hoping to secure seats for her daughter and friends, only to have the website crash repeatedly and eventually turn her away empty-handed.
And Nancy was one of the lucky ones; she had won a lottery that allowed “verified fans” to participate in a four-day pre-sale before the general public.
“I got so close three or four times, and the website broke; it was agony,” the 41-year-old New Jersey resident says. “It was a deflating experience that messed with your emotions and sucked up your entire day.”
Nancy hoped to obtain Taylor Swift tickets for her 11-year-old daughter and friends.
The company selling the tickets, Ticketmaster, has stated that the issues are due to “historically unprecedented demand” for the singer, who first appeared on the scene in 2006 and has provided a steady stream of hits exploring fame and romantic entanglements.
Midnights, her most recent album, has topped the charts worldwide.
Millions of Swifties, as her fans are known, competed for tickets to her 52-city US tour during the pre-sale, with hundreds of thousands securing seats, according to Ticketmaster.
The company claims that the pre-sale system will help prevent ticket touts – known as scalpers in the United States – and bots from scooping up seats.
However, the process flaws have reignited rage against the company, which has long been accused of abusing its clout in the industry.
In an episode earlier this year, comedian John Oliver called it “one of the most hated companies on the planet,” blaming it for the exorbitant prices, fees, and scarcity of tickets for concerts and other events.
“You’re kind of at their mercy,” Nancy said, adding that Ticketmaster could have better organized the sales given the anticipated high demand for Taylor Swift tickets.
In the 1990s, Pearl Jam expressed concerns about Ticketmaster’s role as the primary ticket seller.
Since then, the company’s power has only grown. It purchased Live Nation in 2010, which operates many of the country’s event venues and has an artist management division.
Democratic lawmakers in the United States, who have called for the merger to be reversed, chimed in again amid the chaos of Taylor Swift’s pre-sale.
“Ticketmaster’s excessive wait times and fees are completely unacceptable, as seen with today’s @taylorswift13 tickets, and are a symptom of a larger problem,” wrote House Competition and Antitrust Committee Chairman David Cicilline. “It’s no secret that Live Nation-Ticketmaster is a monopoly unchecked.”
“Daily reminder that Ticketmaster is a monopoly, that its merger with LiveNation should never have been approved, and that they need to be reigned in,” wrote left-wing congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. “Split them up.”
On Wednesday, the Department of Justice did not respond to a request for comment on the Taylor Swift scandal.
Ticketmaster is already subject to government oversight, which was imposed when the LiveNation acquisition was approved.
After regulators discovered that the firm had violated the terms of the agreement, the oversight was extended a few years ago.
Last month, US President Joe Biden, who has expressed concern that monopolies are becoming more common in the economy, stated that his administration would investigate concert ticket fees.
Krista Brown, the senior policy analyst at the American Economic Liberties Project, is part of a coalition of artists and others who called on the government to break up Ticketmaster last month.
She hoped that the outpouring of rage from Taylor Swift’s massive fan base would pressure the administration to act.
“If there were healthy competition in this space, [these issues] would simply not exist, and customers or fans would have other services to turn to,” she said. “You probably wouldn’t have sites crashing… This is what happens when you only have one supplier.”
But whether that will be of any comfort to fans hoping to catch a glimpse of Taylor Swift in concert remains to be seen.
Before the general public can try again, the company is restricting purchases to people who have credit cards from Capital One, the company that is sponsoring Taylor Swift’s tour.
Ticketmaster did not respond to a BBC inquiry about how many tickets were expected to be available.
Swift has added 25 shows to her tour in response to overwhelming demand and has occasionally picked fights with corporate behemoths, and has remained silent on the matter thus far.
Nancy plans to try again as a member of the general public on Friday. However, she is not optimistic.
Celebrity
American Who Made Social Media Threats Against Taylor Swift Detained Ahead Of German Concert
BERLIN — An American man who made threats against Taylor Swift on social media was seized before her first concert in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, and will be held in custody until her gigs there end, authorities said Thursday.
swift | AP news Image
American Who Made Social Media Threats Against Taylor Swift Detained Ahead Of German Concert
According to police, the accused stalker, a 34-year-old whose name has not been disclosed, had a ticket to Taylor’s concert at Gelsenkirchen’s Veltins-Arena on Wednesday. They stated that he was detained at event admission checks because an early assessment could not completely rule out a risk.
According to police, the man threatened Taylor and her partner on social media. They say he was detained after receiving tips from the event’s organizers.
The American superstar will perform in Gelsenkirchen on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday as part of her Eras tour. According to authorities, a local court has ordered that the suspected stalker be detained until Saturday.
They went on to say that Swift and the audience were always safe. The event drew approximately 60,000 people on Wednesday evening and went off without incident.
American Who Made Social Media Threats Against Taylor Swift Detained Ahead Of German Concert
Before the concerts, Gelsenkirchen temporarily renamed the town “Swiftkirchen” and honored the singer on a “Walk of Fame” dedicated to local luminaries.
Taylor has plans to perform in two more German cities after Gelsenkirchen: Hamburg and Munich.
SOURCE | AP
Nobody puts Britney Spears in a corner.
The singer was highlighted on a recent episode of “The Osbournes Podcast,” in which Ozzy Osbourne stated that he was “fed up with seeing poor old Britney Spears dancing on social media.”
“You know, it’s sad,” the renowned rocker admitted. “Very, very sad.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2)/ozzy-osbourne-brittany-spears--063-07172024-1b9201fbbfc3446397693fca68a8a430.jpg "Britney Spears Has A Message For Ozzy Osbourne After He Called Her Dancing ‘Sad’")
Britney Spears | People Image
Britney Spears Has A Message For Ozzy Osbourne After He Called Her Dancing ‘Sad’
His family agreed, including his wife Sharon and older children Kelly and Jack Osbourne.
Britney, who routinely posts videos of herself dancing on social media, noticed and responded with a lengthy comment.
She began her essay by mentioning Kate Beckinsale’s 2001 film Serendipity and stating that “incredibly cruel people were talking about [Beckinsale] needs more age-appropriate content.” Beckinsale, who is in her fifties (as Britney also highlighted), has been known to confront social media bullies.
Britney then reacted to the Osbournes’ complaints. She stated that she rarely dances and responded to Sharon Osbourne’s description of her as “a poor little thing” by saying, “I’m not poor at all!!!”
Britney Spears Has A Message For Ozzy Osbourne After He Called Her Dancing ‘Sad’
“I taught dance lessons to a few adolescents last week… Spears wrote, “A lot of the kids were too thin, and some were too big.” “I know what it’s like to be judged, so it’s a ridiculous and stupid subject initially, but I think it’s important to HELP EACH OTHER and invite each other to places that help our souls to grow!!!”
Spears closed her email to the Osbournes, whom she described as “the most boring family known to mankind,” by ordering them to “kindly f**k off.”
SOURCE | CNN
Tenacious D, the comedic rock duo comprised of Jack Black and Kyle Gass, has postponed the remainder of their tour following Gass’ remarks about the murder attempt on Donald Trump.
On Sunday, while onstage at a concert in Sydney, Black presented Gass with a birthday cake and urged him to “make a wish”. Gass responded, “Don’t miss Trump next time,” an apparent reference to the previous day’s rally shooting, which left the former president with a damaged ear. The footage of Gass was widely shared on social media.
Jack Black Ends Tenacious D Tour After Bandmate’s Trump Shooting Comment
“What was mentioned during the broadcast on Sunday caught me off guard. “I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any way,” Black wrote in an Instagram post on Tuesday. “After much thought, I no longer believe it is right to continue the Tenacious D tour, and any future creative plans are paused. I appreciate the fans’ support and understanding.”
Following Black’s statement, Gass apologized on Instagram.
“The line I improvised Sunday night in Sydney was highly inappropriate, dangerous and a terrible mistake,” the comedian wrote Tuesday. “I condemn all forms of violence against anyone. What happened was a tragedy, and I sincerely apologize for my lack of judgment.”
The band recently finished touring in the United States and Europe. Their “Spicy Meatball Tour” is set to resume Tuesday night in Newcastle. This month, they will visit most major cities in Australia and New Zealand before returning to the United States for a few chosen dates in October.
Jack Black Ends Tenacious D Tour After Bandmate’s Trump Shooting Comment
“Frontier Touring regret to advise that Tenacious D’s concert tonight at Newcastle Entertainment Centre has been postponed,” their touring firm stated on Instagram Tuesday. “Ticket holders are asked to hold onto their tickets until further information is available.”
A band representative referred the Associated Press to Black’s remark when approached for further comment. Details about reimbursements for the remaining tour dates were not immediately available.
SOURC | AP
-
World2 weeks agoFormer President Trump Survives Being Shot at Pennsylvania Rally
-
Tech4 weeks ago
Huawei Launches 5G-A Pioneers Program at MWC Shanghai 2024: Paving the Way for a Connected Future
-
Tech4 weeks ago
ChatGPT Answers Undiscovered Questions and Outperforms Students.
-
Sports4 weeks ago
NBA Draft: Kyle Filipowski Withdraws Unexpectedly From The First Round
-
News4 weeks ago
US Supreme Court Rejects Drug Deal that Protects the Sackler Family
-
Health4 weeks ago
US Health Agency Issues Dengue Virus Infection Warning
