Why Was Ticketmaster Sued in the US, And What This Means for Aussies?

Will we finally be breaking the shackles of paying way too much for concert tickets? 🎫

Last Wednesday, a federal jury in the United States found that Live Nation, the concert giant that owns Ticketmaster, has operated as a monopoly in violation of federal and state antitrust laws.

A monopoly means a single company or entity dominates a specific market, becoming the only supplier or a good or service with no close substitutes.

What happened?

Live Nation controlled the artist, the venue, and the ticketing, which forced artists into specific venues and vice-versa. Investigations also revealed artificial inflation of ticket fees, with claims of "bait-and-switch" practices.

Live Nation owns or controls a vast number of major concert venues, reducing competition in the booking market.

If a venue wanted to host popular Live Nation artists, they often had to use Ticketmaster for ticketing services.

Ticketmaster was established in 1976 and merged with Live Nation in 2010. The company now controls 86 per cent of the market for concerts and 73 per cent of the overall market when sports events are included

Basically, the less competition a company has, the higher they can set the prices.

The trial also aired a Live Nation executive’s internal messages calling prices “outrageous”, calling customers “so stupid” and bragging about “robbing them blind”.

While an exact punishment is yet to be called by Judge Arun Subramanian, the penalities will be decided at a second hearing.

What does this mean for the US?

The consequences from the charges could mean heavy fines for Live Nation to breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster.

This could result in potentially lowering ticket prices and reducing high, non-service-related fees.

By separating venue management, promotion, and ticketing, supporters argue that a more competitive landscape could emerge, reducing overcharges.

However, if Live Nation appeal the verdict then the case could continue for years.

Will ticket prices be going down at all?

Unfortunately, it’s likely to still be a while till we see any drop in prices for tickets.

Despite the company being found to operate an unlawful monopoly, the expected legal appeals mean prices will likely remain high or continue rising for now.

In the long term, if the court forces a breakup of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, then increased competition from Seatgeek or AXS could mean more reasonably priced tickets.

How will this affect Australia?

The US jury ruling has created calls for an Australian investigation into similar practices. Despite this all happening in the US, it does still create pressure on the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to launch a formal investigation into high service fees and market concentration.

More pressure on these giant companies has been pushed for by artists and independent venue managers for years.

Currently, customers and smaller artists or venues are feeling the most pinch in their pockets with expensive ticket prices and a mountain of service fees.

Let’s hope we can see the next big artist who comes to Australia without having to sell our kidneys to afford a ticket.