The Monopoly Breakdown

Live Nation Entertainment, Ticketmaster’s parent company, has extraordinary influence over every segment of the live events industry

Primary ticketing

of the primary ticket market

Ticketmaster controls roughly 80% or more of the primary ticket market at the biggest venues in the U.S. Live Nation Entertainment says it is “the largest ticketing network in the world.”

Secondary ticketing

billion in secondary sales

Ticketmaster uses technology and restrictions to funnel secondary sales through their system. Ticketmaster is growing its secondary market presence and reported nearly $4.5 billion in 2022 ticket resales, more than doubling their 2019 figure.

Venue Control

venues

Live Nation owns or controls more than 265 concert venues in North America, including more than 60 of the top 100 amphitheaters in the United States.

Artist management

musical artists

Live Nation Entertainment manages more than 380 musical artists as one of the world’s largest artist managers.

Concert Promotion

of concert promotions

Live Nation controls around 60% of concert promotions at major concert venues across the U.S.

EXCLUSIONARY CONDUCT

WAYS LIVE NATION WIELDS THEIR MARKET POWER TO KEEP CONTROL

Contracts & Coercion

Live Nation uses exclusive contracts to lock out competition.

The company makes offers venues can’t refuse: Use Ticketmaster or lose out on Live Nation’s most lucrative concerts.

Artists face a similar choice: Hire Live Nation for promotion services or forget about performing at the largest venues.

Live Nation has also bullied industry actors with threats and retaliation.

Partnerships with Would-Be Rivals

Live Nation also creates partnerships with potential rivals to expand its dominance.

The DOJ complaint outlines the company’s controversial relationship with Oak View Group, a company that should have been a competitor.

OVG’s role was to avoid competing and influence venues it operates to extend agreements with Ticketmaster, even advocating for an “annual increase to Ticketmaster’s portion of the per-ticket fee for primary tickets.”