The Ticketmaster Monopoly and its Problems

“It’s all Ticketmaster’s fault” is a phrase commonly said by, you guessed it, me. After seeing what happened in 2022 with their ticket sales regarding the Eras tour in the United States, I am certain that I am not the only one who has a love-hate relationship with the ticket sales giant.

In January 2023, The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing called “That’s the Ticket: Promoting Competition and Protecting Consumers in Live Entertainment”, whose target was to understand the lack of competition in the primary and secondary ticket market and the power Live Nation Entertainment holds. Live Nation Entertainment consists of Ticketmaster (the ticket sales platform) and Live Nation (a venue operator and events promoter) which holds over 70% of this market, making this a concerning case. Why? Let me give you an example:

The Weeknd decides he wants to go on another stadium tour. This tour will primarily feature the western European countries and the United States. Most stadiums located in these places are partnered with Live Nation Entertainment. If an artist would like to use this venue, that’s who they would have to ask. Live Nation Entertainment agrees for The Weeknd to set up his stage, sound production and all the other things one needs to hold a concert in an arena. When Live Nation Entertainment asks what the ticket pricing will be, The Weeknd’s team could say it is none of their business since they are planning to sell their tickets with a different ticket retailer. Here's the catch, Live Nation Entertainment can then state that if they aren’t willing to sell tickets through their service Ticketmaster, they are not permitted to use one of their stadiums. If Live Nation Entertainment has a partnership with all the large stadiums where artists want to play, artists have no other choice than to let them sell their tickets too.

This is exactly what happened to Taylor Swift with her Eras tour. By partnering with all the venues where artists could hold concerts, Live Nation Entertainment places an artist in a position where they have no alternative but to choose them, allowing the company to have an overwhelming piece of the market. After the original ticket sales date, Ticketmaster is known for doubling or even tripling the prices of an original ticket, turning live music into an exclusive event for consumers who can afford it rather than the fans of the artist.

Measures by the artist to try and keep the prices lower and aimed towards the fans is through sale codes. Fans sign up with their email to get a code that allows them to access and purchase tickets during the general on sale. However, this doesn’t take into account the numerous fans that get excluded because they do not get selected by the randomized code system Ticketmaster has, encouraging high retail prices. Another way is making the digital ticket only available on the Ticketmaster site for viewing 48 hours before the concert to prevent resale all together. While these changes demonstrate initiative on Live Nations Entertainment’s behalf to solving some of its problems, there is still room for improvement. Live Nation Entertainment should still do better to give artists the ability to sell their tickets in a different manner instead of forcing them into an unfair agreement and should stop the ridiculously high resale prices.

Bibliography

Taysom, Joe. “The Big Topic: The Problem with Ticketmaster.” Far Out Magazine, 2 Dec. 2022, faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-problem-with-ticketmaster/.

Emily_Lorsch. “Why Live Nation and Ticketmaster Dominate the Live Entertainment Industry.” CNBC, CNBC, 25 Jan. 2023, www.cnbc.com/2023/01/25/the-live-nation-and-ticketmaster-monopoly-of-live-entertainment.html.

Mims, Taylor. “How the Dysfunctional Ticketing Market Harms Artists & Fans – and What Can Be Done to Fix It.” Billboard, 18 July 2023, www.billboard.com/pro/how-concert-ticket-market-hurts-artists-fans-ways-to-fix/.