[callmeed]

On top of that (somewhat to TM's credit), I remember reading an article stating that they were the only company who had proven they could handle the huge load of online sales for top-tier acts (think Gaga and Bieber).

Let's face it, Louis CK's site probably could not handle 100K simultaneous people buying tickets and choosing seats.

EDIT: found the article http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/11/mf_ticketmaster/all/

[voltagex_]

That's interesting. The Australian branch of Ticketmaster uses queuing and delays to handle load and still often crashes when "big" events go on sale (annual festivals, Radiohead)

[beedogs]

Confirmed. The radiohead ticket release was an abomination. Although somehow, Ticketek manages to be even worse.

[bitdestroyer]

Radiohead couldn't even handle Radiohead on their last American tour.