this is "nightline." >> tonight -- ♪ bad blood ♪ >> taylor's ticket disaster. the bad blood between swifties and ticketmaster. a look back. >> i'm going back on tour. >> from anticipation -- >> please! >> to epic meltdowns. >> the tickets you have selected have been released. >> millions unable to get tickets. >> it was just gone. and that was a very hard reality to accept. >> the investigations and who's to blame. >> does any part of you blame taylor? plus, destination unknown. the latest craze hitting the travel industry. we revisit surprise vacations. >> where are you going? i'm like, i have no idea. >> pack your bags, head to the airport, then then --

>> we have our envelope, it has our destination. it says "no peeking." nashville! >> would you trust someone else to book your vacation? pele, remembering the soccer legend and ambassador for the game. that's me before dawn powerwash. soaking, scrubbing...that's life. was life. now, powerwash gives me the power of an overnight soak in minutes. i'm sorry, minutes? with 3 cleaning boosters... not found in traditional dish soaps that help break down, loosen and lift away food and grease... so much faster! tougher mess? let the suds sit a few minutes before wiping. even cleans... the grill! thank you!

♪

good evening and thanks for joining us. i'm phil lipof. ticketmaster is feeling the wrath of taylor swift fans after the ticketing giant was unable to meet the unprecedented demand for tickets to her first concert tour since 2018. our look back at their outrage, sparking investigations and renewing calls to break up the powerful entertainment company. here's abc's ashan singh. >> take me to day one of the presale day. did you even get a code? >> yes, so i did get a code. >> what went wrong? >> everything. mine crashed immediately. >> trying hard to keep my morale high. >> and then it finally popped up and loads, and it does the "there's 2,000-plus people in front of you." >> what's going through your head at this point? >> i'm kind of panicked. >> reporter: first, there was the anticipation. but when the queue opened up to

finally buy tickets for taylor swift's upcoming stadium tour -- >> oh, no, what just happened? >> reporter: her fans, the swifties, went from freaking out -- >>ry joking? >> what? >> reporter: to melting down. >> the tickets you have selected have been released. >> the website fully crashed! >> i waited in line for like six hours. >> reporter: now ticketmaster, the company responsible for selling these tickets, is facing increased scrutiny with fans and government officials demanding answers on what many claim are ufair practices. all that chaos triggered by taylor swift's november 1st announcement. >> i finally get to tell you, i'm going back on tour. >> reporter: her big news came just days after she dropped her record-breaking album "midnight." which filled all top ten spots on the billboard charts with hits like "anti-hero." >> it's me, hi, i'm the problem, it's me ♪

>> reporter: this will be the first time taylor's hit the road since her 2018 "reputation" stadium tour. ♪ now we got bad blood ♪ >> reporter: featured in the netflix movie of the same name. >> people are hungry to see taylor swift perform live. >> her fans are incredibly devoted. they're incredibly passionate. and that is to her credit. when she says she cares about her fans, we're talking about an artist who literally has baked them cookies. >> people have not been able to see the artists they've wanted to see perform because of the pandemic. major artists are now announcing tours. people have to figure this out and get it together. >> reporter: the swifties took it to a whole other level of demand. so one of the biggest frustrations about this ticket sale is taylor swift fans were led to believe that they specifically had multiple avenues to be able to secure tickets to the tour.

so we're right outside columbus, ohio, to link up with superfan nicole halberg who said she checked all those boxes. let's see if she was able to get tickets. i'm looking at your desk over here. and it looks a bit more like a taylor shrine than a desk. >> i would say that is correct. i mean, we have everything. even water bottles. >> it's 11:30. and my line hasn't moved in an hour. >> reporter: like many fans, nicole wasn't able to get a ticket during the fan presale, but she had a capital one credit card which let her get into another special presale one day later. >> i started with the cincinnati show. couldn't get any tickets. i tried arizona, i tried l.a., i tried seattle, i tried chicago. i mean, i must have went to probably eight different cities. >> reporter: then ticketmaster canceled the general sale. nicole's last chance at tickets. due to "insufficient remaining ticket inventory." >> it was just gone.

like -- and that was a very hard reality to accept. >> does any part of you blame taylor? >> you can't look at taylor and say that she's just the artist, she doesn't have control. she's taylor the businesswoman. she's taylor the corporation. >> i'm so upset right now, because i was in line for taylor swift tickets. >> reporter: as more fans lost out on tickets, they started looking for someone or something to blame. >> this was a terrible experience. i'm really disappointed. >> reporter: and a lot of them looked at ticketmaster. >> all of these things were preventible. >> reporter: days following the incident, taylor put out a statement on her instagram story. never naming ticketmaster but writing in part, "i'm not going to make excuses for anyone because we asked them multiple kind of demand, and we were his- assured they could." adding in reference to her fans, "it really pisses me off that a lot of them feel they went through several bear attacks to get them." representatives for ticketmaster said there was just no way to

prepare for all these buyers. on cnbc's "squawk on the street," the ceo of liberty media, majority stake holder in ticketmaster, said -- >> all live nation team are sympathetic that the long wait times and fans couldn't get what they wanted -- the site was supposed to be opened up for 1.5 million verified taylor swift fans. we had 14 million people hit the site, including bots. we could have filled 900 stadiums. >> everybody knew going into this, there weren't going to be enough tickets for all buyers. but what people wanted was a fair process where they felt like they at least had the opportunity to get them. >> because people have this personal connection with taylor, and because individuals who want to resell the tickets to the people who want to go out to the shows -- that's why we have this particular problem. >> reporter: ticketmaster does have a tool to try to slow down the ticket resale market called "dynamic pricing." >> the idea behind dynamic pricing is to match the real market value of the tickets. so if a particular artist is

exceptionally popular, the tickets are priced a little bit higher right away. because there's an algorithm that recognizes the tickets that might otherwise cost, say, $100 could theoretically be sold on the secondary market for $1,000 or maybe two or three times that. so dynamic pricing allows the artist to capture this revenue herself, rather than simply see someone who's sitting in front of a computer, has nothing to do with the show, contributes nothing artistically, make that profit by buying the ticket and then reselling it. >> reporter: there's been speculation that taylor was using dynamic pricing this tour. for the first time her team is speaking out. a spokesperson told "impact" that "taylor chose not to use and will not use dynamic or platinum pricing on taylor swift "the heir ris" tour."

over the years ticketmaster has gotten more powerful especially after a 2010 learner with live nation. >> when you have this monopoly power, when you have no competition, it discourages innovation. it degrades quality. it produces higher prices. all those things which are very harmful to consumers and the quality of life that my constituents live and the quality of life people all across this country. >> reporter: according to yale's school of management, ticketmaster currently controls over 70% of the market for ticketing and live events. you have the world's largest concert promoter that owns the world's largest ticketing company that also has a management group with about 100 managers and 450 of the world's best-known and most-talented artists. and this same company owns and operates venues. to a lot of people, this looks very much like a vertical monopoly. >> reporter: "the new york times" is reporting the justice department is actually already

looking into the company. they've been asking around for months about whether test makter engages in monopolistic practices. >> ticketmaster has a hugely dominant market position. so we're looking at this from both a consumer protection and anti-trust perspective. >> reporter: even jonathan sc scrimeti, attorney general of taylor's home state, is investigating. >> there's a huge incentive for people to game this system. tickets in the tens of thousands of dollars appear to be somewhat common. huge markup here. when people have that incentive, we have to be awfully careful to make sure there's nobody putting a thumb on the scales and getting a cut of that. >> reporter: ticketmaster's parent company, live nation, defended itself in a november 19th statement saying, "live nation takes its responsibilities under the anti-trust laws seriously and does not engage in behaviors that would require it to alter fundamental business practices." they also said it has a significant share of the primary ticketing services market, but

new year's large gap between the quality of the ticketmaster system and the next primary ticketing system. that ticketmaster continues to be a leader is a testament to the platform and those who operate it, not to any anti-competitive business practices. >> you can't call this the straw that broke the camel's back because the camel was broken. what happened is, all of a sudden, a bunch of kids saw the camel in pain. and that's not good. >> what i do know is, ticket master or whoever else has to figure out how to solve this before beyonce announces her tour. because if you think the swifties are bad, the bey-hive, you don't want to mess with the bey-hive. >> our thanks to ashan. ticketmaster offered a new opportunity to buy tickets nor certain eligible fans who weren't able to purchase them the first time around. for more on the ticketmaster fiasco, you can stream "impact on nightline" exclusively on hulu. up next, destination unknown. where do you want to go for your

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♪ ♪ nnounced i for the holiday, gmc sierra light duty crew cab models. visit your local dealer today. ♪ ♪ picking your vacation destination can often be stressful. it's not just where to go but what to do once you get there. what if you could leave it to someone else? now you can. we take a look back. here again, ashan singh. >> reporter: what if you could go on a vacation like this? one catch. you have no idea where you're headed. companies are now offering a new

way to get away. >> for me, i think it's just, why not have someone else do it? why not surprise yourself? >> reporter: erika and lexi are young professionals living in new york city. but in four weeks, they could be anywhere in the country. >> we have no idea where we're going. >> essentially it's a surprise vacation. >> really excited to kind of, a, not plan anything, because all i do is plan things. >> reporter: the two are going on a surprise vacation, paying the company "pack up and go" to not tell them where they're going. this trend is a growing part of the travel industry. companies offering surprise trips, saying they've seen the demand for their services explode post-dough individual. they sent 7,000 travel areas year around the country. how are you explaining it to people at work? "i'm going on vacation." "where are you going?" >> i think it's fun to say that. "you're going on a trip, where are you going?" "i have no idea, i'll find out when i go."

>> what is your budget going in? >> the recommended budget for two travelers is $1,700. so sticking to that. >> reporter: pack up and go has clients fill out a comprehensive form. >> when you travel what do you prioritize? >> definitely food and dining. >> reporter: laying out everything they would and wouldn't want for their dream trip. >> so we have a real person who is looking to see where this traveler has been recently, where they visit frequently, what they like to do, dietary restrictions, hobbies and interests. we book it from there. >> maybe a week before our trip we'll get an envelope in the mail that has our destination and recommended itineraries and all those things. then we go to the airport, and we'll open the envelope and find out where we're going. >> ready for our trip? >> i am, so excited. >> reporter: two weeks later, after packing for somewhere, they arrive at the airport ready for the big reveal. >> we have our envelope from pack up and go that has our destination. okay, it says "no peeking." ready?

nashville! oh my god, yay! >> reporter: after a short flight, arriving in nashville. aka, music city. ready to explore. >> we're just going to end up in the wild. >> yes, probably. >> reporter: the day's events, visiting the country music hall of fame. >> oh, whoa. >> reporter: a must-see for music lover erika. and taking in nashville's iconic broadway strip. ♪ home of the late-night honky tonks. ♪ but that late night didn't stop them from a 13-mile bike tour in the morning. their trip, a much-needed break from daily life. but for others, only a life-changing vacation will do. >> for me, when i travel, there has to be meaning behind it.

so absolutely soul-searching, finding meeting. >> reporter: astra looked with black tomato, a vacation company that books clients on surprise trips to death-defying places with a hefty price tag. >> i had this childhood fantasy on my whole life, being on my own, isolated, in the middle of nowhere. i really felt this, i don't know, calling on my life, that i was going to go places where nobody had ever been before. >> reporter: the texas mother of two sent on an 11-day journey into the atlas mountains of morocco. were there some days that were mentally tough? >> at the very outset of the second day, i had to do this scramble up a pretty steep, rocky cliff thing. whoo. i was cold and numb when i started, and i was sweating by the time i got to the top. >> reporter: to pay the 13k price tag, she started a gofundme and even sold her plasma as a last-ditch money-making effort. she says it was all worth it.

>> for the first time in about ten years, something inside of me started -- it's like my heart started beating again. >> reporter: but not everyone walks away feeling so good. for michael wade and taylor dedrich, that $3,000 surprise was unwelcome. when they signed up for a surprise vacation using a different company, they thought they'd listed all the places they didn't want to go. >> so i open it up, it's a sheet of paper that's got a picture of one of the main buildings of austin, texas. "austin" with exclamation marks. i shut it and i said, "are you sure you didn't choose texas as a place we didn't want to go?" >> michael, how did you react? austin with eight exclamation points. >> i said, "i don't want to go on this trip." >> reporter: but the couple kept an open mind. >> we had a wine and barbecue tour. that was scheduled by them. and we ended up making really good friends with everyone on our tour. >> reporter: even an unexpected envelope managing to turn

serendipitous. whether sending you to the cliffs of morocco or the bars of nashville or a place you've already been. whether you know where you're going or not. at the end of the day, it's still a vacation. >> there are so few times in our lives as adults that we are genuinely surprised. in a good way. and having something as fun as a vacation that you're already so excited about and already looking forward to, amplifying that by adding one more element of anticipation, i think is really, really exciting for a lot of travelers. >> our thanks to ashen. up next, pele. fans mourning the death of the soccer legend. ok, so with the award-winning geico mobile app, our customers have 24/7 access, digital id cards, they can even pay their bill- (beep) bill has joined the call. hey bill, we're just- phone: hi guys, bill here. do we have julia on the line too?

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2023 on disney+. it's going to be quite a year. now is our time. ♪ this is what it's all been leading to. there's only one place that's home to all of this and so much more. disney+.

♪ finally tonight, remembering soccer legend pele. here's abc's matt rivers. >> reporter: tonight, the world mourning the loss of a giant, pele, the brazilian legend many consider the greatest soccer player of all-time dead at age 82. pele had been battling colon cancer and was hospitalized in early december. born in 1940, he grew up in poverty, in part hoping his skills by kicking a rolled-up sock stuffed with rags. making his world cup debut as a 17-year-old in 1958, brazil's victory there rocketing him to global stardom. >> pele, number 10, always the master! >> reporter: he'd go on to win three world cups in all, the only player in history to do so.

pele wor number 10, often worn by top playmakers. tonight, tributes from other number 10s including brazilian neymar, saying "before pele, 10 was just a number." lionel messi, "rest in paste." messi won the world cup, pele was watching. he congratulated messi and argentina for the victory, writing "what a gift it was to watch." for years, it was pele himself who was a gift for so many of us. >> that's "nightline." you can watch all our full episodes on hulu. see you right back here tomorrow see you right back here tomorrow at the s you ready for an adventure? let's go! 2023 on disney+. it's going to be quite a year. new stories. this is just the beginning. definitely. new faces. peter pan? were you expecting someone else? and some familiar ones too. hang on. like this handsome fellow!

little over the top, don't you think?