Intro for May 24, 2024

Dear Gossips,  

Yesterday, the US Department of Justice, along with thirty state and district attorneys, filed an anti-trust lawsuit against Live Nation and its subsidiary, Ticketmaster. They’re alleging monopolistic behavior and guess where the suit was filed? The Southern District of New York, baby, the most f-ck around and find out jurisdiction in the country! 

Attorney General Merrick Garland said it’s “time to break up Live Nation and Ticketmaster”, as Swifties and the Beyhive celebrated following ticketing debacles for the Eras and Renaissance tours. However, Live Nation fired back, saying, “Calling Ticketmaster a monopoly may be a PR win for the DOJ in the short term, but it will lose in court because it ignores the basic economics of live entertainment,” and saying that the suit “ignores everything that is actually responsible for higher ticket prices, from increasing production costs to artist popularity, to 24/7 online ticket scalping that reveals the public’s willingness to pay far more than [what] primary tickets cost.”

Scalping is a legit problem, and the DOJ or someone should look into that, too. There is a proposed bill that addresses “deceptive” ticketing and secondary selling platforms, but Congress is so broken, who knows how long it will take for them to do anything, especially since elected officials seem deeply uninterested in consumer protections beyond anything other than a soundbite. A federal court case will probably move faster than a consumer protection bill.

As for the DOJ, one official said it was “not surprising” that Live Nation blamed artists for rising ticket costs. Sure, a mega-tour like Eras or Renaissance will cost a lot, there’s a lot of people to pay for their labor in making those performances happen, from venue staff to road crew to stage performers, not to mention insurance premiums to cover, etc. But I go to a lot of local shows around Chicago, and ticket prices can be nuts for lowkey performances at small venues, too. 

But still, this is a step in the right direction. Hopefully, something actually comes of it. Despite stoking the anti-trust fires, the Biden administration has not been able to stop recent mega-mergers like Microsoft and game company Activision Blizzard. Again, politicians love soundbites about fighting for the little guy, but when it comes to actually stopping billion-dollar corporations from getting everything they want, well, that’s a different story. 

But SO many people are pissed about the ticketing situation, from artists to venues to fans, it might have reached a critical mass where something will have to be done, though breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster is just the first step. There also need to be robust consumer protections in place to protect people from price gouging and junk fees (ditto for air travel). Never forget, Pearl Jam fought Ticketmaster over their bullsh-t prices decades before that company merged with Live Nation. At the end of the day, consumer protection is as important as anti-trust action. One without the other is only a half-measure.

Live long and gossip,

Sarah