Live Nation is one of the largest ticket retailers and event promoters in the world, selling tickets for concerts, sports events, and more. Many people wonder if Live Nation is a legitimate and trustworthy source for buying tickets or if there are issues with fraud or hidden fees that consumers should be aware of.
What is Live Nation?
Live Nation Entertainment is a global entertainment company that was formed in 2010 from the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. Live Nation sells tickets for over 30,000 events each year across dozens of countries. They own, operate, or provide booking services for over 300 venues around the world. Live Nation’s websites, including livenation.com and ticketmaster.com, are among the most popular places to purchase event tickets online.
Some key facts about Live Nation include:
- Reports over $10 billion in annual revenue
- Sells 500 million tickets per year for concerts, sports, arts and theater events
- Connects over 1,000 artists with fans in 33 countries
- Owns, operates or provides booking services for over 300 major venues worldwide
- Provides ticketing services for over 12,000 client venues globally
- Promoted over 40,000 live events in 2019
Live Nation sells tickets for major artists’ concerts, music festivals, live theater shows, comedy tours, arts performances, and sporting events. They sell tickets on their own websites like livenation.com, ticketmaster.com, and ticketsnow.com as well as providing ticketing services for many major venues and sports franchises.
The benefits of buying from Live Nation
There are several advantages to buying tickets directly from Live Nation websites and services:
- Access to tickets – Live Nation has exclusive ticket rights and partnerships with many major artists, theaters, venues, and sports franchises. For high demand events, Live Nation may have access to tickets that general public onsale does not.
- Official site – Customers know they are buying legit tickets directly from the official source. No risk of counterfeit tickets.
- Consumer protections – Live Nation offers standard consumer protections including guarantees, refunds, and ability to resell.
- Perks – Live Nation Total Experience program provides access to preferred seating, exclusive offers, and more.
- Wide selection – Live Nation tickets are available for almost any type of event – concerts, sports, theater, comedy shows, festivals, and more.
Buying directly from the source through Live Nation provides peace of mind and assurances that tickets are legitimate and official. Customers can feel confident they are not receiving fraudulent or unofficial tickets from resellers.
Scams and fraudulent tickets
One major concern some consumers have about buying tickets online is receiving fake or fraudulent tickets. However, instances of users receiving counterfeit tickets from Live Nation are very rare. Live Nation has several protections in place against scams:
- State of the art ticket printing and distribution systems make counterfeiting difficult.
- Tickets redeemed through Live Nation Ticket Transfer or sold on official resale market are verified.
- Strict legal enforcement for any unauthorized ticket resale or distribution.
- Guarantee refunds of any fraudulent or unofficial tickets.
While no ticketing service can prevent against all scams, Live Nation has implemented extensive policies and technologies to protect customers against fraud. Customers can feel confident that any tickets purchased through official Live Nation channels will be legitimate.
Are there hidden fees?
Some consumers complain about excessive hidden fees added during checkout when buying tickets. Live Nation does include some additional fees for most ticket purchases:
- Service fees – This charge covers the costs of operating the ticketing platform and services. Service fees vary based on event type, price, venue, etc. but usually range between 10-25% of ticket face value.
- Order processing fee – A small flat fee, usually a few dollars, to process the ticket order.
- Facility charge – For tickets at major venues, a facility fee is charged (typically $5-20) which the venue collects to cover maintenance, staffing, utilities, amenities and more.
- Shipping fees – If tickets are shipped through mail or courier, shipping and handling costs will apply.
While Live Nation does charge these additional fees, they are clearly listed during the checkout process so customers can see an accurate total price including all costs and taxes. Live Nation also provides customers the option for “all-in” pricing where the fees are bundled into the initial ticket price at checkout.
Is Live Nation pricing fair?
Some consumers believe Live Nation engages in unfair pricing practices:
Claim | Reality |
---|---|
Tickets are overpriced to maximize Live Nation profits | Live Nation does not set base ticket prices – artists, promoters, teams and venues determine initial pricing. |
There are too many extra fees tacked on | Service fees cover costs of ticketing services. Facility fees go to the venue. Taxes are set by government. |
Ticket prices change frequently | Market-based pricing adjusts prices based on demand. Fans pay market value. |
While fans may not like paying high prices and fees, Live Nation asserts they are simply operating an open marketplace where ticket prices reflect market demand.
Are there other ticket options?
Live Nation is the largest player in ticket sales, but not the only option. Some alternatives for buying tickets include:
- Official venue box offices – Buy tickets directly from the venue’s box office or website, often with lower fees.
- Artist or team presales – Get early access to tickets through special presales for fan club members.
- General public onsales – Buy during a public ticket release, but events will sell out fast.
- Resale sites – Purchase tickets from resellers on sites like StubHub.
- Ticket brokers – Get tickets from ticket brokers, usually at inflated prices.
While Live Nation is the biggest source, exploring some alternative options can potentially find better ticket availability and pricing in some cases.
Is Live Nation trustworthy?
When judging a company’s trustworthiness, consumers should consider factors like:
- Company reputation and management
- Transparency and pricing policies
- Consumer protections and guarantees
- Partnerships and connections in industry
- Length of time in business
- Reviews and complaints
For a company as large as Live Nation, there will inevitably be some complaints about issues like high fees or poor customer service. However, when weighing all the factors, Live Nation does appear to act as a legitimate business:
- 50+ year history beginning as regional concert promoter Bill Graham Presents
- Backed by Liberty Media, a reputable media and entertainment company
- Partners with major artists, theaters, teams, and brands
- Sells hundreds of millions of verified tickets per year
- Offers standard customer service protections on ticket purchases
- Operates popular ticketing platforms trusted by venues, artists and fans
No ticketing retailer is perfect. But the evidence suggests Live Nation is indeed a fully legitimate business within the ticket industry that provides real value to both artists and fans.
Proceed with caution
Buying tickets is always a bit of gamble. While Live Nation appears to be a legitimate seller, customers should still exercise some caution when purchasing tickets:
- Carefully review all ticket details and total costs before completing a purchase.
- Understand ticket transfer and resale policies in case plans change.
- Use payment methods with fraud protection and purchase guarantees.
- Be wary of deals that seem “too good to be true” which could indicate scams.
- Save all ticket confirmations and only redeem tickets through official channels.
As with any major purchase online, buyers need to be informed and exercise some diligence. But overall, Live Nation provides a trustworthy option for fans to purchase tickets from official sources.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Live Nation has a strong reputation as one of the premier destinations for buying event tickets online. While all ticketing sellers have downsides like fees and changing prices, Live Nation delivers a legitimate service that grants consumer access to official event tickets.
There are reasons to proceed with some caution, but the evidence suggests Live Nation is a reliable place to purchase verified tickets for concerts, sports, theater and other live entertainment events worldwide.