
The Justice Department is Coming to Break Up the Live Nation and Ticketmaster Monopoly
Great news via The Associated Press:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department filed a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation Entertainment on Thursday, accusing them of running an illegal monopoly over live events in America — squelching competition and driving up prices for fans.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, was being brought with 30 state and district attorneys general and seeks to break up the monopoly they say is squeezing out smaller promoters and hurting artists.
“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. “The result is that fans pay more in fees, artists have fewer opportunities to play concerts, smaller promoters get squeezed out, and venues have fewer real choices for ticketing services. It is time to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster.
The Justice Department accuses Live Nation of a slew of practices that allow it to maintain a stronghold over the live music scene, including using long-term contracts to keep venues from choosing rival ticketers, blocking venues from using multiple ticket sellers and threatening venues that they could lose money and fans if they don’t choose Ticketmaster. The Justice Department says Live Nation also threatened to retaliate against one firm if it didn’t stop a subsidiary from competing for artist promotion contracts.
It’s about time. The fees were totally out of control. You probably experienced this yourself when you bought two tickets to see Dave Matthews Band for the 700th time in Camden, and after purchase got hit with a $16 “service fee,” $10 “facility charge,” and $6 “order processing fee.” Then you paid taxes on the purchase and $40 to park. Before you even realize, you’ve paid more in fees and parking than the actual tickets, and your reward is Dave singing “What Would You Say” for the four millionth time while dancing around like a weirdo.
This is the rare case of something we can all agree on. Diner en Blanc, the Dallas Cowboys, the PPA, and Live Nation/Ticketmaster monopoly -all terrible. Put them in the bagster!