Number 54,297. That is the reality for Ticketmaster presales. Ever since the groundbreaking Eras Tour by Taylor Swift, Ticketmaster presales have been nearly impossible for fans to get tickets in 2022.
Swift’s presale had a plethora of issues within itself, such as site crashing and canceling the public sale, which led to congressional hearings to better protect the company’s consumers.
Live Nation Entertainment, the owner of Ticketmaster, has been known for its unfairness to fans. Many presales have had more people than seats, and there are many questions weather the tickets are being placed in the hands of actual fans or robots.
The U.S. Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit in 2024 against Live Nation and its partner company Ticketmaster, alleging that the companies have engaged in anticompetitive practices that have ended in the limit of competition in concert promotion, venue ownership, and ticketing services. The trial began on March 3rd, 2026.
As the antitrust trial begins against Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation Entertainment, college students argue that the company’s presale system and pricing structure have made concert culture increasingly inaccessible, which is at the heart of the controversy.
“Ticketmaster always puts me towards the back of queues for bigger artists that I like, even when I get into the queue more than 15 minutes before,” said Quinn Gryckiewicz, a PR and advertising major and senior.
This has been the case for many, as they sign up for presales extremely early, and when told to join the waiting room of the queue the day of the presale, fifteen minutes early by Ticketmaster, they are still pushed to the back.
Meanwhile, college students who work minimum-wage jobs often end up saving their money for nothing, or when they get the opportunity to buy tickets, the prices cost as much as a month’s rent.
Even resale can be tricky, and is often just as expensive, if not more.
Francheska Lacap, a junior electrical engineering major, expressed her frustration.
“It’s very frustrating because obviously, getting scammed by bots is not good, and I try not to get resale because it’s obviously more expensive than general sales. I like to steer away from resale tickets,” said Lacap.
Over the next six weeks, the jury will decide whether Ticketmaster broke antitrust laws, which cound endividally cause a forced breakup of Live Nation and Ticketmaster as a whole.
Ticketmaster has recently begun to include fees in its ticketing pricing when advertised, but that hasn’t always been the case. In the past, ticket pricing would be outrageously expensive without service fees.
In recent sales, such as the return of Harry Styles and Noah Kahn, the prices of tickets have been well over $500, and while this includes fees, some students argue that it’s just too expensive.
“As a working college student, anything above $200-$250 becomes too expensive for me. I love going to concerts, but once the total cost goes past that range its hard to justify it with my budget,” said Nixa Dubon, junior early childhood education major.
Dubon isn’t alone, as this is a struggle for many users. A complaint filed in the 2024 lawsuit from the Southern District of New York accuses the company of participating in “anticompetitive conduct,” which means fans have to pay more in fees, resulting in artists getting to play fewer shows and venues having limited choices about which ticketing services they use.
“Prices of tickets have stopped me from buying tickets, and anything over $200 is too expensive. I don’t think it’s fair that there should be some kind of system to verify that you are a fan,” said Gryckiewicz.
Unfortunately, only time will tell with this case. Until then, students are saying that concerts are becoming more of a luxury rather than an experience.
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