Live Nation, Ticketmaster lawsuit overview:
- Who: The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is expected to file an antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster parent Live Nation, The Wall Street Journal reported.
- Why: The DOJ believes Live Nation uses its live concert ticket monopoly to undermine competition.
- Where: The DOJ is based in Washington, D.C.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is expected to file a Live Nation and Ticketmaster lawsuit over its alleged live concert ticket monopoly, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports.
The federal government didn’t block the companies’ 2010 merger, but issues that have come to light since that merger have led to the potential Ticketmaster lawsuit, according to Reuters.
The companies have faced a range of complaints, including accusations of excessive fees, customer service problems and anti-competitive issues lawmakers have raised, the WSJ reports.
The largest recent issue involved widespread ticket problems related to Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour,” leading to questions about the two companies and the effect of their control of the live event ticket market, Reuters writes.
The DOJ’s Live Nation and Ticketmaster lawsuit is expected to allege the company has used its dominance in the market to undermine competition, according to the WSJ.
Live Nation exec says companies don’t have monopoly
Dan Wall, Live Nation’s head of corporate affairs, wrote a March essay on how Live Nation and Ticketmaster do not have a monopoly and that the idea is a misunderstanding of the function of primary ticketing companies.
“They think of Ticketmaster as an enormous ticket retailer that acquires vast quantities of tickets and puts them up for sale at prices Ticketmaster determines — an assumption that makes it easy to blame Ticketmaster for high ticket prices,” Wall wrote. “But that’s not true.”
Wall said artists and teams determine the price of tickets and that the venues and primary ticket companies receive little to no money from the tickets’ face value.
Instead, the companies are forced to put add-on fees with tickets to pay for the services they are providing, meaning the fees are not junk fees but instead the price for the value provided. Wall said venues get the majority of service fees, while Ticketmaster and Live Nation get approximately 25% of the fees.
“Ticketmaster does not set service charges, venues do, and most of the money goes to the venues,” Wall wrote.
The justice department could file its Live Nation and Ticketmaster lawsuit as early as May, according to the WSJ.
A consumer class action in California federal court alleges Ticketmaster and Live Nation have market dominance with primary and secondary ticket sales and charge consumers excessive service fees.
Have you purchased tickets from Live Nation or Ticketmaster? What do you think of the DOJ’s planned Live Nation and Ticketmaster lawsuit? Let us know in the comments.
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3 thoughts onReports: DOJ plans Live Nation, Ticketmaster lawsuit over antitrust claims
CROOKS!!!!!!!
How is it NOT a monopoly ?
Excessive fees are crazy, why would the venue charge those fees?
Why do ticket brokers and scalpers always get the best seats ?
There is something really wrong with the practices that Live-action and Ticketmaster play by.
Taylor Swift can fix it ! Ask her how…
How is it NOT a monopoly ?
Excessive fees are crazy, why would the venue charge those fees?
Why do ticket brokers and scalpers always get the best seats ?
There is something really wrong with the practices that Live-action and Ticketmaster play by.
Taylor Swift can fix it ! Ask her how…