The first fall of snow each semester is always a memorable event. This year, it took place on a slow Wednesday evening in November. Maybe that day you went sledding on the grove, or stopped to take a few Instagram stories on the quad of “how it glistened” or “how it fell,” or maybe you were just like me, calling the local Pennsylvania radio station 256 times in an attempt to win tickets to Taylor Swift’s sold out Eras Tour. You can say I remember this day all too well.

On Nov. 15, 2022, 1.5 million Taylor Swift fans awaited their opportunity to purchase tour tickets through Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan Presale. Unfortunately, it would only take a few hours for most of these Swifties to meet their tragic fate at the hands of a brutal monopoly: Live Nation Entertainment. This day marks the beginning of an entirely new great war, calling to question the imploding power of big business corporations like Live Nation Entertainment, and their alleged violation of consumer rights.

Lucky fans who were selected out of 3.5 million applicants in early November to participate in the TaylorSwiftTix Verified Fan Presale were told by Ticketmaster that they would receive a code on Nov. 14 in order to access and  purchase up to six tickets to The Eras Tour. Instead of the smooth process that many expected, thousands dealt with painful setbacks caused by Ticketmaster’s faulty site.

While some presale codes failed to work at all, other fans spent hours waiting in the site’s queue only to be booted out when it finally became their turn in line. In fact, the site’s failure was so treacherous, that days later Ticketmaster canceled the general sale of tickets altogether, leaving many fans and congressmen fed up with Live Nation’s tyrannical control over the entertainment industry.

On Nov. 19, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal, Amy Klobuchar and Edward J. Markey called on the The Justice Department to open an antitrust investigation on Michael Rapino, the owner of Live Nation Entertainment. The case was brought to the senate this past week, in order to assess whether or not Ticketmaster and Live Nation are abusing their power over artists and fans belonging to the music industry.

At this time, it cannot be concluded whether or not the Justice Department plans on breaking up the two parent-companies. However, until then we might all share the guilty pleasure of listening to US senators quote the pop queen in the courtroom. As Senator Mike Lee stated, “Karma is a relaxing thought, aren’t you envious for you it’s not?”

On behalf of the millions of Swifties who will not be attending the Eras Tour in the coming months, we can only hope that Lee is right, and Ticketmaster receives its Karma by the force of the law.