Trouble, Trouble, Trouble: Taylor Swift, Ticketmaster, and Arbitration
Professor Imre S. Szalai | 27 Vand. J. Ent. & Tech. L. 301 (2025)
Through Ticketmaster’s use of arbitration and the controversy surrounding Ticketmaster’s botched sale of tickets for Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour, this Article explores problems with the broad use of arbitration in the United States. Arbitration, a private contractual method of resolving disputes in a binding manner, is a neutral process that can provide many benefits. However, under the current broad scope of arbitration law, virtually every type of claim can be arbitrated. A more limited arbitration law could provide more robust enforcement of laws, greater accountability and transparency, and stronger development of precedent within our legal system. Stronger parties (like large corporations) sometimes view arbitration as a means to suppress claims and limit liability. Thus, instead of trying to resolve disputes in good faith, stronger parties may try to disadvantage weaker parties (like individual consumers) through the drafting of unfair arbitration clauses with harsh, one-sided terms. Arbitration is supposed to be based on the consent of the parties, but in many consumer and worker transactions, meaningful, voluntary consent is often lacking. The live-ticketing industry’s use of arbitration illustrates these broader concerns with arbitration, and this Article suggests reforms and solutions to alleviate the troubled use of arbitration in the United States.