What a nasty stretch of trouble Live Nation and its subsidiary Ticketmaster went through in late May. First attorneys general in 30 states joined a U.S. Department of Justice effort to launch a breakup of the company’s near monopoly in the music business.
On top of that there was a disastrous data breach. If you dealt with Ticketmaster in the past, crooks have your information, possibly even credit card data.
Here are 10 things to know about this company’s efforts to rule the music world:
1. A big bully? If the government’s allegations about Live Nation/Ticketmaster are true, the company has used threats and hard-core tactics to become the dominant player in the music industry. Top executives have an our-way-or-the-highway approach to keep everyone in line from the top performers to the lowly fans. The company allegedly uses threats of financial retaliation against those who try to compete. (Note: The company did not respond to my request to hear their side of this.)
2. Did Taylor Swift start this? The Swifties moved it along. Regulators were already looking at the company’s business practices when her Eras Tour tickets went on sale in 2022. Millions of fans trying to buy tickets were frustrated by the difficulty and the expense. Ticketmaster was blamed for the subsequent chaos. After that, the investigation into the company moved to the front burner.
3. How big? The company calls itself “the largest live entertainment company in the world.” With the record album market dried up, most bands earn their money now through live shows. With 400 artists under its roof and ownership of 265 concert venues in North America, most roads run through Live Nation. Ticketmaster, in turn, controls 80% of the ticketing business.
4. Tight controls. The Texas attorney general’s office joined the lawsuit and said in a statement that “with such a high degree of control over the tickets, venues and even artists themselves, the company was able to take advantage of consumers through price hikes, obscure fees and reduced choice.”
5. Fees galore. Anyone who has bought concert tickets knows about the add-on fees: service or convenience fees, platinum fees, VIP fees, handling fees, payment processing fees, facility fees plus taxes. The lawsuit refers to these as a “Ticketmaster Tax.” The company also peddles event insurance and options like parking.
6. Freeze out competitors. If a venue or artist wants to use a different ticket system, the company allegedly threatens by saying, “We won’t put shows in your building.”
7. Déjà vu. You might remember this happened before. In 2010 when Live Nation wanted to buy Ticketmaster, the deal required federal approval. Critics worried that the company would grow into a monopoly and ticket prices would rise. Despite that, the feds approved the merger.
8. Will prices drop? The key question. Lawsuits like this can take years, so don’t count on any immediate price drops. It seems logical that the breakup of a monopoly could lead to greater competition and lower prices, but Ticketmaster would likely still be everywhere, and Live Nation likely wouldn’t be forced to give up control of its many venues and deals with artists. Smaller companies may not be able to cut costs lower than a much larger company operating on a bigger scale.
In a statement released after the court filing, Live Nation said that “calling Ticketmaster a monopoly may be a P.R. win for the DOJ in the short term, but it will lose in court because it ignores the basic economics of live entertainment, such as the bulk of service fees go to venues, and the competition has steadily eroded Ticketmaster’s market share and profit margin.”
9. Is the data breach related to the lawsuit? It appears to be a coincidence. The hack happened on May 20, and the lawsuit was announced three days later. An ad by a group called ShinyHunters on the dark web was selling information on 560 million Ticketmaster users. The price to buy it back is $500,000. Compromised information includes names, addresses, emails, phone numbers, ticket sales, event information and order deals, the hackers said.
10. Protect yourself. According to Malwarebytes Labs: Change your password, enable two-factor authentication on your account, watch out for fake vendors, consider not storing your credit card on a website and possibly hire an ID monitoring company.
Watchdog tip: Ticketmaster customers should watch for unauthorized charges on their bank and credit card accounts.
