New York City – The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Live Nation-Ticketmaster to break up what they call a “monopoly,” according to court documents filed May 23. Along with the DOJ, 29 state and the District of Columbia are suing Live Nation-Ticketmaster, including North Carolina.
The DOJ said Live Nation-Ticketmaster’s exclusionary conduct and dominance across the live concert ecosystem harms fans, innovation, artists and venues.
In 2010, Ticketmaster and Live Nation merged to create a large company that mostly controls ticket sales for events all over the world. According to 2022 venue data by PollStar, 88 of the top 100 amphitheaters
are in the United States, with 56 of the top 88 being operated by Live Nation. Of the top 88 amphitheaters, Ticketmaster was the sole ticket provider in 82 percent of them.
In 2022, Ticketmaster dominated the field when it came to the top 100 amphitheaters. In terms of ticketing provider, Ticketmaster grossed more than $600 million at the top 100 amphitheaters in 2022 alone. The next closest competitors were In-House and AXS, whose numbers came nowhere close to the revenue generated by the ticketing giant.
These stats are exactly what the lawsuit is for. The DOJ is claiming Live Nation-Ticketmaster have a monopoly on the concert operation and ticketing market, and they are using this to leverage themselves, abasing other companies.
The goal of the lawsuit is to split up the company so there can be competition in the venue operation and ticketing market.
How it will effect sports fans
For years, sports fans have been plagued by price gouging of tickets to just about every game. Breaking up the alleged monopoly that is Live Nation-Ticketmaster would allow for their to be competition in the ticketing market. This means that fans would have options when wanting to go see their favorite teams play.
For example, when NFL tickets when on sale in May, the only place to get non-resale tickets was Ticketmaster. If Live Nation-Ticketmaster split up, this will allow fans to have options of where to buy their tickets from, which will ultimately result in lower priced tickets.
The price gouging of resale tickets on Ticketmaster has resulted in fans not going to games or having to empty their bank accounts to get to go. For example, at press time the cheapest resale ticket to the NHL Stanley Cup Final game on June 8 is $474, before fees. After the $91.25 service fee and $2.95 processing fee, the grand total for one ticket is $568.20.
That is the total to sit up at the top of the arena, where you would most likely be watching most of the game on the Jumbotron.
Also, if you want to go to the rematch of Super Bowl LVIII between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, the cheapest resale ticket at press time on Ticketmaster is $260, before fees. After a $59.80 service fee and a processing fee of $2.95, your grand total for one ticket is $322.75.
As cases like this go, it could be years for the sides to reach a settlement. So don’t look for lower-priced sports tickets just yet.