Ticketmaster May Face Millions In Fines Following Bad Bunny Concert Backlash

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2020 Billboard Music Awards - Show
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 14: In this image released on October 14, Bad Bunny performs onstage at the 2020 Billboard Music Awards, broadcast on October 14, 2020 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Ticketmaster was dragged by Taylor Swift fans last month after their website crashed amid sales.

Hundred of fans were disappointed to learn that they were denied entry to Bad Bunny’s Mexico City concert over the weekend. After Ticketmaster blamed the issue on an “unprecedented number of fake tickets,” the brand is now looking at millions of dollars in fines.

According to Variety, director of the Federal Attorney’s Office for Consumers in Mexico (PROFECO) Ricardo Sheffield recently revealed that there have been around 1,600 requests for refunds.

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO - MARCH 10: Bad Bunny performs as part of "X100Pre Tour" at Coliseo Jose M. Agrelot on March 10, 2019 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Photo by Gladys Vega/Getty Images)

He also confirmed that the ticket cancellations were not a result of “counterfeit,” but an “oversell” of tickets by Ticketmaster.

Sheffield reportedly suggested that the company issue fans a 100% refund with an added “20% compensation.” On the fine that Ticketmaster could soon face, he revealed that it could total a maximum of 10% of their 2021 earnings.

Stating that the fine is “to be determined [in] the following week,” he emphasized, “It is a very serious situation, quite delicate.”

READ MORE: Los Angeles Honors Bad Bunny With His Own Day

Bad Bunny ended his global World’s Hottest Tour in Mexico City last Friday night (Dec. 9) with fewer concertgoers than expected.

Releasing a statement shortly after, Ticketmaster stated that “the issues with access were the result of an unprecedented number of fake tickets, which led to a not normal agglomeration of people and an intermittent operation of our system.”

“The above generated confusion and complicated the entrance to the stadium,” the statement continued, “with the unfortunate consequence that people with legitimate tickets were denied access.”

Ticketmaster similarly faced backlash last month after Taylor Swift announced her highly-anticipated Eras Tour. The company issued an apology after their website crashed amid the concert’s pre-sale. 

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - SEPTEMBER 20: NSAI Songwriter-Artist of the Decade honoree, Taylor Swift performs onstage during NSAI 2022 Nashville Songwriter Awards at Ryman Auditorium on September 20, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images)

Ticketmaster then canceled their general admission ticket sales, admitting in a statement that they experienced “extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand.”

The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced an investigation into Live Nation, Ticketmaster's parent company, with plans to discover if it "has abused its power over the multibillion-dollar live music industry."

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