Taylor Swift fans will protest outside the Senate's Ticketmaster hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee holds its much-anticipated hearing into Live Nation and the lack of competition in the ticketing industry on Tuesday.

And while lawmakers grill entertainment executives and antitrust experts, some of Ticketmaster's most vocal critics will be protesting just steps away on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol: Taylor Swift fans.

Critics have long accused Ticketmaster of being a monopoly, especially after its controversial merger with Live Nation (now its parent company) in 2010. But outrage reached a new pitch after its botched presale process for Swift's The Eras Tour in November, when long wait times, exorbitant fees and website outages left thousands of fans frustrated and empty-handed.

After years of complaints about high fees, and other issues, the incident seemed to galvanize fans and lawmakers alike. Attorneys general of several states launched consumer protection investigations, many Democratic lawmakers called for Ticketmaster