The Ugly Truth Behind Ticketmaster’s Lawsuit
SlateThe waters were chummed. We’ll never know if Thursday’s 124-page Justice Department lawsuit against Live Nation, alleging all manner of antitrust violations, would have come about now if not for the Swift mess. The message of the lawsuit is that, yes, music fans get a bad deal because of Ticketmaster’s dominance in the ticketing space, but Live Nation’s most corrosive impact is on the events world as a whole, poison not just to fans but to venues, artists, and promoters too. The feds say that Oak View Group has described itself as both a “hammer” and a “pimp” to protect Live Nation’s interests, despite being positioned to compete. Rapino, in public, acknowledged not being able to explicitly withhold Live Nation acts from venues that don’t want to use Ticketmaster, but then said, “We have to put the show where we make the most economics, and maybe that venue won’t be the best economic place anymore because we don’t hold the revenue.” Thus, a venue not keen on using Ticketmaster may not have tickets to sell at all—at least not to a frontline act that’s part of the Live Nation portfolio.
History of this topic
Taylor Swift Fans Sue Ticketmaster for Price Gouging
WiredLaw firm considers class action against Ticketmaster and Live Nation over dynamic ticket pricing
ABCLive Nation reveals data breach at its Ticketmaster subsidiary
Associated Press
Column: With Live Nation lawsuit, government signals it’s fed up with alleged corporate scofflaws
LA TimesThe Justice Department is suing Ticketmaster and Live Nation. What does that mean for concertgoers?
Associated PressGovernment sues Ticketmaster owner and asks court to break up company’s monopoly on live events
Associated Press
Justice Department sues Live Nation, Ticketmaster over their ‘stranglehold’ on concert ticket industry
LA Times
Online ticket booking platforms like Ticketmaster may need breakup, U.S. senators say
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