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U.S., states sue to ‘break up’ Ticketmaster parent Live Nation


The U.S. government filed a sweeping antitrust lawsuit Thursday against Live Nation Entertainment, the parent company of Ticketmaster, seeking to break up the conglomerate over allegations that it has amassed and abused unrivaled power in the ticketing and concert industries.

The landmark case — joined by 30 state and district attorneys general — could dramatically reshape an ecosystem that has long sparked outrage from artists and fans alike, whose frustrations erupted in 2022 when high fees and site outages disrupted early sales for Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour.

Live Nation is an entertainment titan: It is a concert promoter, artist manager, venue owner and ticket seller and reseller, constituting a sprawling empire that its executives publicly herald as the “largest live entertainment company in the world.” Last year alone, Live Nation produced more than 50,000 concerts and other musical events, and it sold more than 620 million tickets globally, the company boasted to investors in April.
But the U.S. government contends that the company’s vast power and reach have also afforded it unfair advantages over competitors, allowing Live Nation to evolve into an illegal and harmful “monopolist” — with the power to box out rivals, reduce consumer choices and raise ticket prices.

“We allege that Live Nation relies on unlawful, anticompetitive conduct to exercise its monopolistic control over the live events industry in the United States at the cost of fans, artists, smaller promoters, and venue operators,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement, later adding: “It is time to break up Live Nation.”

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It didn't work for Pearl Jam.

https://www.rollingstone.com/m...-ticketmaster-67440/

I'm ok with this

It's time all these "fees" got reigned way in.

I remember a while back wanting to go see Regina Spektor in concert and the tickets were around $45 each but all the "fees" made them over $100

Nope.

My BIL is telling me this is now rife in the Airbnb sector. You'll see a nice place that costs like $200 a night but then they tack on a "cleaning fee" of $400. Yeah right...cleaning

It's about time.

I'm generally against the Gov interfering and meddling, but Ticketmaster's fees are outrageous.

Several times I've gone to buy tickets only to find that the price of the tickets doubled once Ticketmaster got done adding in their various fees and charges. Depending on the show, sometimes I held my nose and paid the extortionate price, but more than once, I decided it wasn't worth it.

quote:

Originally posted by CoolRich59:
It's about time.

I'm generally against the Gov interfering and meddling, but Ticketmaster's fees are outrageous.

Several times I've gone to buy tickets only to find that the price of the tickets doubled once Ticketmaster got done adding in their various fees and charges......

I don't disagree. It'd be nice if they reigned in states, counties, and municipalities for their fees as well. That $105 per night motel room might end up $140 when you have to pay for it after all the taxes and fees. And while we're at it let's make it illegal to not include all fees in advertised or quoted prices on vehicles.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
It's time all these "fees" got reigned way in.

I remember a while back wanting to go see Regina Spektor in concert and the tickets were around $45 each but all the "fees" made them over $100

Nope.

My BIL is telling me this is now rife in the Airbnb sector. You'll see a nice place that costs like $200 a night but then they tack on a "cleaning fee" of $400. Yeah right...cleaning

FYI, Airbnb cleaning fees are decided by the property owner.

I'm also very okay with this decision. Live Nation is abusive.

Big gov will now get the fees, that's the Government motivation to break them up, not fairness.

It's not just those fees.

The worse is not being able to buy a ticket/tickets when they first come online to buy.

It's amazing that people can be waiting at their computers to be online with the ticket seller (ticketmaster) and the instant they sign on and attempt to buy a ticket, all of a sudden there are no tickets available except maybe way in the back if even that.

Then within just a few moments all the tickets are available by a reseller who somehow managed to buy huuuge blocks of tickets (supposedly within the first nanosecond).

This happens way too often. It's insider crap and it's infuriating.

Break them up.
.

quote:

Originally posted by OKCGene:
It's not just those fees.

The worse is not being able to buy a ticket/tickets when they first come online to buy.

It's amazing that people can be waiting at their computers to be online with the ticket seller (ticketmaster) and the instant they sign on and attempt to buy a ticket, all of a sudden there are no tickets available except maybe way in the back if even that.

Then within just a few moments all the tickets are available by a reseller who somehow managed to buy huuuge blocks of tickets (supposedly within the first nanosecond).

This happens way too often. It's insider crap and it's infuriating.

Break them up.
.

I think it's more that specialized software is being used to poach tickets ahead of you or I rather than it being "insider".

Most of the companies, especially Ticketmaster, have upfront agreements with ticket brokers. Brokers agree to buy large batches of tickets from Ticketmaster at a separately negotiated rate, then Ticketmaster resells them for the brokers and collects "fees" in their stead and then adds additional "fees" to get the margin they want for the show... Ticketmaster/Live Nation does that to mitigate their risk, such as it is, because they buy the rights to the entire show(promoter), artist, and venue.

I recently used a company called Tixr that did the same thing, they even offered smaller buyers the opportunity to buy extra tickets and sell the rights back to them at a fee.

That's where a LOT of the "fees" come from, it's all one big circular scam of sorts...

Finally. These bastards charge fees up to half of the ticket price.

Good, no amount of convenience or service can justify the fees I hear are associated with todays concert's final prices. Ridiculous!

I recall going to the local Foleys department store and walking to the cash office window and buying a ticket for the concert that was announced and selling tickets. Ticket popped up from under the metal flap by the window, head to the food court!

The brokering of tickets to insiders is criminal.

This was long overdue. Pretty much what the Sherman Antitrust Act was created to prevent.

$5600 to go see Paul McCartney is a bit much.

I'm not completely up to speed on anti-monopoly laws. But damn I hate Ticketmaster and they seem to be a monopoly as far as I can tell. They've made it basically impossible to see good bands. Metallica was like $750 for the cheapest seats. I don't think any entertainment is worth that much.

I also think they have insider deals with the other ticket outlets. I can't imagine it's just bots that are able to buy all those tickets at once. I liked the good old days of waking up at 5 AM and driving in to Boston Garden, waiting in line and being first to get great seats.

I liked even better when a friend worked at Ticketron and would get me front row as soon as something went on sale. Saw Aerosmith, Iron Maiden, and Metallic front row because of that guy.

quote:

Ticketron

That name brings back memories. Getting on the phone and waiting to get through to buy tickets. Also going to Open Door at Westgate Mall in Brockton where they usually had better seats, but had to wait it line.

I'm in oil & gas which is the 5th industry the antitrust laws went after. In 1911, they broke Rockefeller's Standard Oil into 43 separate companies.

Even though it's been 135 years since the Sherman Act and 113 years since Standard Oil ruling, I still have to take annual antitrust training. After 28 years, I could teach the o&g version of the class.

Ticketmaster having the resellers have access to tickets the public can't and then mark them up is going to be tough to overcome. Also, the sheer number of concert venues vs competition will be hard to overcome.

I'd wager they get broken up like Standard Oil or Ma Bell.

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Originally posted by 6guns:

quote:

Ticketron

That name brings back memories. Getting on the phone and waiting to get through to buy tickets.

I remember learning of a great loophole. It was always tough getting through when tickets for a big concert went on sale. Someone told me to get the number of a Ticketron outlet on the East Coast, like New York City.

You could get through to New York no problem because there was no demand in New York for a show in Chicago. There was the added bonus that it was an hour earlier in New York, so you could buy tickets for a Chicago show an hour earlier than they went on sale in Chicago.

Alas, that loophole was quickly shut. I got great tickets for one show, but the next time I tried it, no dice.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
I'm in oil & gas which is the 5th industry the antitrust laws went after. In 1911, they broke Rockefeller's Standard Oil into 43 separate companies.

The Feds were just as "smart" back then as they are today. Rockefeller was pretty wealthy went Roosevelt and the Feds went after Standard Oil. Rockefeller went from owning appx 25% of Standard Oil, to owning 25% of each of the new companies. Once those companies started doing well, Rockefeller's fortune skyrocketed.

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:
I'm not completely up to speed on anti-monopoly laws.

Long story short, the government doesn't like it when anyone other than them tries to do it.