Ticket fraud and sky-high prices for Taylor Swift concerts have some politicians calling for changes to the way tickets are sold in Canada.
“A lot of families are looking forward to this event and the fun they would have, and they feel shut out of the process,” Brian Masse, NDP critic for innovation, science and industry and MP for Windsor West, told CTV News Toronto.
In a letter to Francois-Philippe Champagne, federal minister of innovation, science and industry, Masse called for a crackdown on price gouging.
“The arrival of Taylor Swift’s popular ‘Eras Tour’ concerts in Canada has highlighted your government’s failure to take on price gouging in the ticketing and entertainment industry. Moms who have saved up for a gift their kids and hard-working young people struggling to get ahead have been heartbroken to find out they cannot afford tickets,” the letter reads.
“Instead, scalpers and bots have been allowed to scoop up these highly sought after tickets and resell them for thousands of dollars each – far out of reach for ordinary people.”
Masse implored the federal minister to investigate Ticketmaster and the ticketing industry at large, adding to “take immediate action to work with provinces to crack down on scalper bots and resellers.”
“It’s not good for artists, it’s not good for the economy, and it only helps underground elements that get revenue through this,” Masse said.
A petition, sponsored by a federal Green Party MP, has also been calling for better protections for ticket buyers in Canada, noting how one resale site listed a $13,000 Swift ticket as a “great deal.”
“In Portugal and Denmark, tickets cannot be resold for more than their original price,” the petition reads. “In Germany, a clause can be added in the ticket’s terms and conditions prohibiting resale above 25 per cent of face value. In France, unauthorized ticket resale can carry fines of up to €30,000.”
Masse said the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster eliminated competition and needs to be investigated, saying the current system isn’t working.
“Knowing that a bot or some ticket reseller is going to profit off you or keep you out of the process because you can’t pay double or triple the price isn’t fair and, on top of that, Ticketmaster and others benefit, which is unacceptable,” said Masse.