In recent years, there has been growing controversy surrounding Live Nation Entertainment and its ticket selling subsidiary Ticketmaster. Live Nation is the world’s largest concert promoter and Ticketmaster is one of the biggest ticket vendors for concerts and events. Critics have accused the company of monopolistic practices that exploit music fans.
Background on Live Nation and Ticketmaster
Live Nation was formed in 2005 after the merger of concert promoter Clear Channel Communications’ entertainment division and concert promoter Live Nation. In 2009, Live Nation merged with the world’s largest ticketing company Ticketmaster to form Live Nation Entertainment.
Prior to the merger, Ticketmaster had exclusive ticketing deals with many major venues and promoters. After the merger, Live Nation owned both the venues and the ticketing service for those venues. This vertical integration gave Live Nation-Ticketmaster effective control over ticketing for many major concerts and events.
Today, Live Nation Entertainment is the parent company of Ticketmaster and promotes over 30,000 events each year. Ticketmaster sells 500 million tickets annually across 29 countries. According to some estimates, Live Nation-Ticketmaster now has 80-90% market share of primary event tickets sold in the United States.
Controversy and Criticisms
The Live Nation-Ticketmaster merger has attracted significant controversy and criticism over the years. Some of the main issues that have been raised include:
Monopoly Power
With its size and scope, critics argue that Live Nation-Ticketmaster has too much control over the live event ticketing market. The lack of competition allows the company to impose high fees and unfavorable conditions on venues, artists, and fans.
High Fees and Hidden Charges
Ticketmaster is notorious for its exorbitant fees added on top of ticket prices. These include order processing fees, service fees, facility charges and more. According to reports, Ticketmaster’s fees average 27% of the ticket’s face value. Some event fees can exceed the ticket price itself.
Ticket Price | $100 |
---|---|
Order processing fee | $15 |
Service fee | $25 |
Facility charge | $20 |
Total Fees | $60 |
Many consumers feel these fees are excessive and make Ticketmaster tickets unaffordable. The fees also make it hard to comparison shop as the total cost is unclear until late in the purchasing process.
Reselling and Scalping
Live Nation owns Ticketmaster Resale (formerly TicketsNow), a ticket resale marketplace. Critics allege Live Nation deliberately holds back tickets to events then resells them on Ticketmaster Resale at higher prices. This scalping benefits Live Nation while squeezing fans.
An investigative report found Live Nation’s concert tickets showing up on Ticketmaster Resale at markups sometimes exceeding 1000%. But Live Nation claims it only resells less than 1% of tickets and does not set resale prices.
Anti-Competitive Practices
Live Nation-Ticketmaster faces accusations of stifling competition in ticketing markets. Critics say it uses exclusivity deals and leverages control of venues to block rival ticket sellers.
For example, in 2021 AEG accused Live Nation of forcing artists to use Ticketmaster at Live Nation venues. The Department of Justice investigated Live Nation multiple times for violating antitrust laws, including its 2010 Ticketmaster merger.
Bot Traffic
Fans often complain about Ticketmaster websites crashing and tickets immediately selling out during presales and general sales. There is speculation these tech issues arise from bots and scalpers overwhelming the platform to snatch up tickets.
Ticketmaster claims it is actively fighting bots. But some believe Ticketmaster does not do enough because resale ticketing also benefits the company.
Dynamic Pricing
Ticketmaster now uses “dynamic pricing,” similar to how airlines change prices based on demand. Fans dislike how ticket prices for the same seats can vary widely over time. Critics argue this allows Ticketmaster to “surge price” fans when demand is highest.
Lack of Transparency
Customers routinely complain about a lack of transparency from Ticketmaster regarding fees, ticket availability and pricing. Its handling of presales where tickets immediately sell out breeds distrust among fans.
Without greater transparency, some believe fans are at the mercy of Ticketmaster with no way to verify fairness and equitable access to tickets.
Recent Controversies
Scrutiny of Live Nation-Ticketmaster has intensified recently after a series of high-profile controversies:
Taylor Swift Eras Tour Ticket Fiasco
In November 2022, Ticketmaster’s website crashed during presales for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour as millions of fans attempted to buy tickets at once. Queue times exceeded 8 hours, and many fans failed to get tickets.
Ticketmaster blamed record demand and bot attacks for the issues. But Swift’s fans criticized the company for not being prepared and called for its monopoly to be broken up.
Excessive Bruce Springsteen Ticket Prices
For a 2023 Bruce Springsteen tour, Ticketmaster used dynamic pricing that led to ticket prices exceeding $5,000 in some cases. Fans balked at these sky-high prices that seemed to exploit demand for “The Boss.”
Ticketmaster defended the practice as giving fans options. But even Springsteen’s manager said the prices were “a slap in the face” to loyal fans.
U.S. Senate Judiciary Hearing
In January 2023, Live Nation Entertainment President Joe Berchtold testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on competition in ticketing markets.
Berchtold denied Live Nation is a monopoly and said the company keeps ticket prices “affordable.” But senators accused the company of abuse through high fees and opaque practices.
The hearing signaled greater political will to address Live Nation-Ticketmaster’s power, including possible antitrust actions.
Impact on Music Fans
Fans bear the brunt of Live Nation-Ticketmaster’s dominance in ticketing. The effects on consumers include:
- Soaring ticket prices driven by high fees
- Difficulty purchasing tickets due to website issues, lack of transparency, scalpers using bots
- Fewer choices for buying tickets with Ticketmaster’s lock on major venues and events
- Arbitrarily variable prices and uncertainty whether prices are fair or inflated
These burdens make attending major concerts a frustrating and costly experience for many music lovers. Fans ultimately pay more for a worse service under Ticketmaster’s market control.
Potential Changes and Reforms
To combat Live Nation-Ticketmaster’s dominance in ticketing, critics advocate reforms such as:
- Breaking up the company or forcing divestiture of Ticketmaster
- Banning Ticketmaster’s exclusive ticketing contracts
- Capping Ticketmaster’s service fees
- Increasing oversight and transparency requirements
- Passing a Better Oversight of Secondary Sales and Accountability in Concert Ticketing (BOSS ACT) to regulate ticketing markets
- Enforcing stronger anti-bot protections
However, Live Nation continues to resist major changes to its business model and ticketing practices. The company argues the ticket marketplace benefits from its services and scale.
Conclusion
The controversy surrounding Live Nation Entertainment and Ticketmaster involves serious allegations of monopolistic practices and exploitation of music fans. However, concrete changes have yet to curb the company’s dominance over live event ticketing.
Many question whether meaningful reform is possible without structural changes breaking up Live Nation-Ticketmaster. The company will likely continue fighting to maintain its advantageous position in the market.
Ultimately, the debate surrounds whether consumers benefit from Ticketmaster’s scale and integration or suffer from its unchecked market power. Until public pressure or regulators intervene, Live Nation-Ticketmaster appears poised to remain a lightning rod for controversy.