Justice Department May Take Legal Action Against Live Nation Entertainment – ​​Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Following the U.S. Department of Justice's investigation into Ticketmaster's parent company Live Nation, Live Nation is expected to face an antitrust trial as early as May 2024. The investigation was conducted in November 2022, following the sale from Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.

As tickets for Swift's tour went on sale, fans faced hour-long queues, frozen screens and the Ticketmaster website crashed. The robots managed to cross these barriers, while the fans were blocked. The tickets ended up being sold on resale sites for over $10,000 for a single ticket.

With Ticketmaster controllick Live Nation, which represents 70% of the live event and concert ticket market, was not adequately prepared for the anticipated level of demand and did not properly invest in the customer's ticketing experience.

Previously, in 2010, the Department of Justice authorized the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, creating Live Nation Entertainment. Following the merger, Ticketmaster agreed to measures that could improve competition, such as licensing its ticketing software. The DOJ also prohibited Live Nation from “taking action against any venue owner who chooses to use another company's ticketing services or another company's promotional services.”

In 2019, the DOJ accused Live Nation of violating its agreement and appointed monitors to ensure Live Nation followed its guidelines.

Live Nation's main concern, however, is its involvement in anti-competitive behavior and market domination. With Ticketmaster owning 70% of ticket sales, they have stifled competition and hurt consumers.

From high ticket prices to robots that force their way through queues, the process of purchasing tickets has become a stressful and arduous process. Even fan-verified pre-sales have become obsolete.

Ticketmaster and Live Nation have argued that they are not responsible for the price of tickets, but rather the artist and his team. Live Nation promoters are an important part of the artist's team when it comes to tours and live events. These promoters advise artists on rates and negotiate with venues, 78% of which use Live Nation's ticketing services.

Venues are incentivized by Ticketmaster and Live Nation to charge higher service fees. Venues offer a service fee when negotiating the contract. Bids for the contract are then placed by ticketing companies such as Ticketmaster. As part of the contract, ticketing companies cover a portion of the service fees charged. By charging more, Ticketmaster is more likely to bid on a contract where it will receive a larger discount. With little competition in the ticketing industry, venues have no choice but to settle for Ticketmaster.

Claims that Ticketmaster is taking advantage of its power in the live entertainment industry are not new. In 1995, Pearl Jam attempted to take over Ticketmaster's exorbitant service fees. The DOJ has contacted Pearl Jam regarding filing an antitrust complaint against Ticketmaster. In their complaint, they allege that Ticketmaster is taking over the market by entering into exclusive agreements with venues that allow them to use Ticketmaster only for ticket sales, as well as charging excessive fees. This left consumers and artists with no choice but to use Ticketmaster.

Today's artists are also working to undercut ticket prices and scalpers. Maggie Rogers recently announced the Don't Forget Me Tour. In her announcement, Rogers said: From April 13-20, in every city where I'm playing an arena this fall, you can visit your local box office to choose your places and buy your ticket for a special event. price per person.” Before his We'll All Be Here Forever tour, Noah Kahan decided to make tickets non-transferable to prevent bookmakers from reselling them.

Although Live Nation claims it is not a monopoly and has no control over ticket prices, it does hold significant power in the industry. Their influence and market dominance encourages venues to prioritize big business over the artist and fan experience.

Katherine Varrell can be contacted at (email protected)