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October 2, 2024NASCAR’s Kenny Wallace Asks What Fans Wonder About Ticketmaster
NASCAR just signed a ticketing partnership with Ticketmaster. As part of that deal many NASCAR fans were complaining about why the most popular motorsports league in the United States was getting linked up with Ticketmaster. That prompted famous NASCAR driver (now retired) to ask this question that many fans wonder every time they try to secure tickets for their favorite events:
If Ticketmaster is an issue, then why are all sporting events using them? And I get it, I’m with you all… I know, you all know way more about Ticketmaster than me. I get that, but my question is this, if Ticketmaster is so bad, which I agree, I’m going to go with you because I don’t know… If they’re so bad then why does the US government allow them? How are they able to get away with this?
NASCAR’s Kenny Wallace
The answer is pretty simple, the United States is a capitalist society and Ticketmaster is a private company. Yes, they may be disliked by many fans but they have the right to bid on contracts and add to their market power with moves like taking over ticketing for NASCAR. Similarly the US government has a responsibility to reign in private companies when they are acting badly. In the case of Livenation Ticketmaster the government is already suing them, and has been joined by the Attorney Generals of 30+ states. Ultimately the courts will (likely) decide whether LN/TM has acted badly. The verdict in that case has the potential to shape how fans buying tickets for decades to come. In the meantime, Wallace’s question will have to linger and NASCAR fans will have to get used to working with the largest ticketing company in the World.
Photo credit: article & picture at Sportskeeda
