Celebrity
2023 Taylor Swift: Senators Grill Ticketmaster After Concert Fiasco
SWIFT: Senators grilled Ticketmaster on Tuesday, questioning whether the company’s dominance in the ticketing industry contributed to the company’s spectacular failure last year during the sale of Taylor Swift concert tickets.
Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee also discussed potential legislation, such as making tickets non-transferable to reduce scalping and requiring greater transparency in ticket fees. Some speculated that it is also necessary to split Ticketmaster and Live Nation, a concert promoter based in Beverly Hills, California, which merged in 2010.
“The fact of the matter is, Live Nation/Ticketmaster is the 800-pound gorilla here,” Connecticut Democrat Richard Blumenthal said. “The entire concert ticket system is a monopolistic mess.”
Ticketmaster is the world’s largest ticket seller, processing 500 million tickets in over 30 countries yearly. According to data from a federal consumer lawsuit last year, Ticketmaster sells roughly 70% of tickets for major concert venues in the United States.
Swift Was The Breaking Point For Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster’s website crashed mid-November during a presale event for Swift’s upcoming stadium tour. According to the company, its site was overwhelmed by both fans and bot attacks posing as customers to scoop up tickets and sell them on secondary sites. Thousands of people lost their tickets after spending hours in an online line.
On Tuesday, Live Nation President and Chief Financial Officer Joe Berchtold apologized to fans and Swift, saying the company needs to do better. Berchtold claims that Ticketmaster has spent swift $1 billion in the last decade to improve security and combat bots.
“We need to and will do better,” he stated.
However, lawmakers were skeptical. Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of swift, Tennessee said that many other organizations, including banks and power companies, are frequently targeted by bots but do not experience service disruptions.
“How come they figured it out, but you haven’t? “This is incredible,” she exclaimed. “Many people are very unhappy with how this has been handled.”
Senators Criticized Ticketmaster Fees
Senators also criticized Ticketmaster’s fees. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, recalled piling into a friend’s car in high school to attend concerts by Led Zeppelin, The Cars, and Aerosmith. She claims that ticket prices have risen, so many fans can no longer afford to attend concerts. Klobuchar stated that ticket fees now average 27% of the ticket price and can reach 75%.
Berchtold insisted that Ticketmaster does not set ticket prices or service fees nor determines how many tickets will be sold. Venues determine service fees, he says. According to him, Live Nation owns only about 5% of the venues in the United States.
However, competitors such as Seat Geek CEO Jack Groetzinger claim that even if Live Nation does not own a venue, it prevents competition by signing multi-year contracts to provide ticketing services to arenas and concert halls. Live Nation may withhold acts if those venues do not agree to use Ticketmaster. As a result, competitors will need help to disrupt the market.
“Breaking up Ticketmaster and Live Nation is the only way to restore competition,” Groetzinger said.
Clyde Lawrence, a singer-songwriter with the New York-based pop group Lawrence, believes that when Live Nation owns or has contracts with venues, it limits bands’ ability to negotiate a deal or choose a different ticket seller.
Fees On Top Of Fees For Ticketmaster Customers
Lawrence gave an example: Ticketmaster charges $30 for a ticket but then adds fees that raise the price to $42. After deducting the fees they must pay to Live Nation, the band receives only $12 per ticket, including $250 for a stack of 10 towels in the dressing room in at least one case.
Lawrence wants fee caps, more transparency in how venue fees are used, and more equitable distribution of profits. Live Nation, for example, takes a cut of the band’s merchandise sales at a concert but does not share a cut of food and beverage sales.
Berchtold said the ticketing industry wants lawmakers to focus on the problem of ticket scalping, which he claims has grown into a $5 billion industry, and prohibit fraudulent practices like resellers selling tickets that have yet to officially go on sale. He also agreed that the industry’s fees should be more transparent.
Sen. John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, proposed legislation that would make tickets non-transferable, preventing resale. He also proposed that major artists like Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen demand fee caps.
“Not every kid can afford to see Taylor Swift for $500,” Kennedy explained.
No One Can Afford Those Prices
According to Berchtold, despite its involvement in the ticket resale market, Ticketmaster would support making tickets non-transferable. Others, including North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, said making tickets non-transferable would infringe on people’s right to resell them.
The Justice Department approved the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster in 2010 on the condition that Live Nation agree not to retaliate against concert venues for using other ticket companies for ten years.
In 2019, the department investigated and discovered that Live Nation had “repeatedly” violated the agreement. It extended the ban on retaliation against concert venues until 2025.
Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, announced Tuesday that the Justice Department is re-investigating Live Nation following the Swift ticket debacle. At this point, he believes Congress should question whether the department was correct to allow the merger to proceed in the first place.
“We must keep fair, free, open, and even fierce competition,” Lee swift said. “It improves quality while decreasing cost. We want those things to occur.”
SOURCE – (AP)
Celebrity
Jason Kelce Smashes Football Fan’s Phone
Retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce destroyed a Penn State football fan’s phone after the alleged heckler called his brother, Travis Kelce, a fag.
In now-viral footage published on X (previously Twitter) on Saturday, Nov. 2, the retired Philadelphia Eagles great was seen accompanied by football fans outside Beaver Stadium in State College, Pa., for the Penn State-Ohio State game.
As the individual capturing the tape lifted a fist to Jason, 36, and called his name for a fist bump, another man nearby hurled the homophobic slur at the retired Philadelphia Eagles star.
Hey, Kelce. How does it feel that your brother is a queer dating Taylor Swift?” the man questioned, referring to Travis, 34, who has been seeing Swift since 2023. Jason turned around seconds later, snatched the man’s phone, and crushed it to the ground.
“Looked like a Penn State student was getting in Kelce’s face for no reason,” the original X user who submitted the video remarked. “Wild scene in State College.”
“Kelce how does it feel that your brother is a f****t for dating Taylor Swift?”
Jason Kelce proceeded to slam this kids phone on the ground.
Looked like a Penn State student was getting in Kelce’s face for no reason. Wild scene in State College pic.twitter.com/3PEdZXWhSg
— Chives (@jarrett_daveler) November 2, 2024
Additional footage on X shows Jason smashing the phone on asphalt before picking it up and walking away. The phone’s owner, wearing a Penn State hoodie at the time of the incident, was shown in many videos strolling closely behind Jason and recording him before the conflict occurred.
Another footage published on X, which appears to have been filmed after Jason shattered the man’s phone, showed the hooded Penn State supporter trudging through a mob to pick up his phone off the ground.
“Give me my phone, bro,” he seemed to say to Jason.
The NFL alum seized the gadget first, then stood in front of the man and asked, “Who’s the fag now?” Others appeared to interfere.
The incident occurred while Jason was at Beaver Stadium for an appearance on ESPN’s College GameDay. The Ohio State Buckeyes won Saturday’s game 20-13 over the Penn State Nittany Lions.
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Celebrity
Shaun White’s Proposal To Nina Dobrev Was Romantic Gold
Shaun White, the Olympic snowboarding champion, already has an impressive medal tally, but his surprise proposal to Nina Dobrev deserves a gold medal.
On Wednesday, the couple announced their engagement on Instagram. Dobrev posted photographs of the two hugging under an arch of white roses and showing off her five-carat Lorraine Schwartz engagement ring.
“RIP boyfriend, hello fiancé,” Dobrev said in the caption.
However, the photographs only tell half the tale, as Shaun devised an elaborate plan to surprise Dobrev with his proposal.
Shaun White’s Proposal To Nina Dobrev Was Romantic Gold
According to a Vogue interview published Wednesday, Shaun said he assembled a team of people from the couple’s inner circle and Vogue personnel to trick Dobrev into thinking she had been invited to an intimate dinner party with Anna Wintour.
Dobrev accepted the invitation, joking that Shaun made it “look so legitimate.”
He even asked Dobrev’s stylist to outfit her in Chanel for the event.
Dobrev said she recognized what was happening when she entered the venue and saw White standing beneath the flowery arch.
Shaun’s Proposal To Nina Dobrev Was Romantic Gold
“I went into shock,” Dobrev admitted, later adding that White “said all the right things” before she agreed.
According to the publication, after Shaun proposed, the couple partied into the early morning hours with close friends and relatives.
“Best night of my life,” Shaun captioned his Instagram story on Wednesday.
The duo first became romantically involved in 2020, and they have since publicly recorded their relationship, globe vacations, and White’s Olympic farewell on social media.
SOURCE | CNN
Celebrity
Hollywood Actress Teri Garr Passes Away at 79
Hollywood actress Teri Garr, known for her roles in classics like “Young Frankenstein” and “Tootsie,” has passed away at 79. She died Tuesday of multiple sclerosis “surrounded by family and friends,” said publicist Heidi Schaeffer.
Admirers took to social media in her honor, with writer-director Paul Feig calling her “truly one of my comedy heroes. I couldn’t have loved her more” and screenwriter Cinco Paul saying: “Never the star, but always shining. She made everything she was in better.”
Throughout her career, the performer, often known as Terri, Terry, or Terry Ann, seemed destined for show business from a young age.
Her father was Eddie Garr, a well-known vaudeville comic, and her mother was Phyllis Lind, one of the original high-kicking Rockettes at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. Their daughter began dancing classes at six and was performing with the San Francisco and Los Angeles ballet companies by age fourteen.
She was 16 years old when she joined the road crew of “West Side Story” in Los Angeles, and she began starring in small roles in films as early as 1963.
In an interview from 1988, she described how she landed the role in “West Side Story.” After being rejected at her initial audition, she returned the following day dressed differently and was accepted.
Teri Garr, a comedian
Teri Garr then found steady work as a movie dancer, appearing in the chorus of nine Elvis Presley films, including “Viva Las Vegas,” “Roustabout,” and “Clambake.”
She has also appeared on various television shows, including “Star Trek,” “Dr. Kildare,” and “Batman,” and was a featured dancer on the rock ‘n’ roll music show “Shindig,” the rock concert performance “T.A.M.I.,” and a cast member of “The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour.”
Her breakthrough role was as Gene Hackman’s girlfriend in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1974 thriller The Conversation. This led to an interview with Mel Brooks, who offered her the Gene Wilder’s German lab assistant role in Young Frankenstein if she could speak with a German accent.
“Cher had this German woman, Renata, making wigs, so I got the accent from her,” Garr once said.
The film established her as a great comic performer, with New Yorker film writer Pauline Kael calling her “the funniest neurotic dizzy dame on screen.”
Her big smile and off-center appeal helped her land roles in “Oh, God!” with George Burns and John Denver, “Mr. Mom” (as Michael Keaton’s wife), and “Tootsie,” in which she played the girlfriend who loses Dustin Hoffman to Jessica Lange and discovers he has dressed up as a woman to revive his career.
A gift for spontaneous humor
Teri Garr, best known for comedy, has shown in films such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Black Stallion, and The Escape Artist that she can also tackle drama.
She had a gift for spontaneous humor, frequently playing David Letterman’s foil during early guest appearances on N.B.C.’s “Late Night With David Letterman”.
Her appearances grew so frequent, and the pair’s good-natured bickering so convincing that rumors of romantic involvement circulated for a while. Years later, Letterman acknowledged those early appearances with helping the program become a success.
During those years, Garr began to experience “a little beeping or ticking” in her right leg. It started in 1983 and expanded to her right arm, but she thought she could handle it. By 1999, her symptoms had gotten so bad that she saw a doctor and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
After disclosing her diagnosis, Garr became a spokesman for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, giving hilarious remarks at events in the United States and Canada.
Source: AP
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