NASHVILLE (CelebrityAccess) – The number of people in the music industry talking about their disdain for concert ticket pricing is growing, and adding to that pack is rising Country star Zach Bryan and his “homies.” Bryan has made it known that he hates Ticketmaster (TM) in interviews, concert footage, social media, and the press – making it known to anyone who will listen that he will continue to fight TM’s fees and pricing.
Most recently, Bryan dropped a surprise live album titled (you guessed it), All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster (Live from Red Rocks), and with it, a social media post in which he addressed a “massive issue with fair ticket prices to live shows lately.” The 24-track live album was recorded in November 2021 at the famed Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado and came as the next move in an assault against TM that began in October and doesn’t end there.
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He will only play a limited number of shows in 2023. “I’ve decided to play a limited number of headline shows next year, to which I’ve done all I can to make prices as cheap as possible and to prove to people tickets don’t have to cost $450 to see a good and honest show,” Bryan wrote, noting that he didn’t have control of ticket prices for festivals he’ll play. The social media post doesn’t say TM by name (except for the album title), but he did tag them in the post.
Bryan, named as one of Barack Obama’s favorite musicians, believes “working class people should be able to afford tickets to shows,” saying he is “tired of people saying things can’t be done about this massive issue while huge monopolies sit there stealing money.”
TM has been all over the news as of late, partly due to the disaster of the Taylor Swift Eras Tour November presale when TM’s entire platform crashed – leaving fans sitting in the queue for hours with many not getting a ticket at all. In addition, the follow-up planned general sale was canceled because TM ran out of tickets. The attention from this and Swift herself after posting on social media has prompted several state attorneys to open investigations, including the Department of Justice.
Additionally, in early December, over 20 “Swifties” filed a class-action lawsuit again TM and its parent company, Live Nation Entertainment (LNE), alleging “fraud, price-fixing, and antitrust violations.” Then, just five days ago, a second lawsuit was filed by a separate group of Swifties, claiming TM used price-fixing and false advertising to “intentionally and purposefully mislead millions of fans into believing it would prevent bots and scalpers from participating in the pre-sale.”
Back in July, fans of Bruce Springsteen were angered over the TM prices for his upcoming tour – with some seats reaching the astronomical price of $4,000 – $6,000 per person.
TM Mexico is also in trouble over tickets sold for a Mexico City Bad Bunny concert that left thousands of fans with nothing due to fake tickets. TM Mexico has since denied the show was oversold and said the fake tickets were through channels unrelated to their sale with “temporary interruptions in the ticket reading system, which unfortunately momentarily impeded recognition of legitimate tickets.” CNN reports Mexico’s consumer protection agency has launched an investigation.
In Bryan’s social media post above, he ends with saying, “a songwriter trying to make ‘relatable music for the working class man or woman’ should pride themself on fighting for the people who listen to the words they’re singing.”
The working-class men and women are indeed listening as Bryan’s surprise album now sits at No. 1 on Apple Music’s Country chart, with his debut album, American Heartbreak, resting nicely at No. 2.
