Law DOJ Finally Going After Ticketmaster

[Cherry Brigand]

Sauce: FoxBiznez

Attorney General Merrick Garland is vowing that it is "time to break up Live Nation" as the Justice Department is suing the company and its subsidiary Ticketmaster for "monopolization and other unlawful conduct that thwarts competition in markets across the live entertainment industry."

The Justice Department announced Thursday that it and 30 state and district attorneys general have filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

"We allege that Live Nation relies on unlawful, anticompetitive conduct to exercise its monopolistic control over the live events industry in the United States at the cost of fans, artists, smaller promoters, and venue operators," Garland said in a statement. "The result is that fans pay more in fees, artists have fewer opportunities to play concerts, smaller promoters get squeezed out, and venues have fewer real choices for ticketing services. It is time to break up Live Nation."

...

The Justice Department says exclusionary practices carried out by Live Nation and Ticketmaster protect what it refers to as its "flywheel."
"The flywheel is Live Nation-Ticketmaster’s self-reinforcing business model that captures fees and revenue from concert fans and sponsorship, uses that revenue to lock up artists to exclusive promotion deals, and then uses its powerful cache of live content to sign venues into long term exclusive ticketing deals, thereby starting the cycle all over again," the Justice Department said in a statement.

I wonder why it took 30 years to do it.

Only laser eyes Biden could pull this off. 4 more years!

 

[Andy Capp]

Sauce: FoxBiznez




I wonder why it took 30 years to do it.

Only laser eyes Biden could pull this off. 4 more years!

Because Taylor Swift, that's why.

 

[MicroBrew]

About dam time.

Thanks President Biden !

 

[jx820]

The merger with live nation never should have been allowed.

It'll only matter if Biden gets reelected. It's likely a DOJ headed up by a Trump appointee would have it's own priorities. His first administration was VERY friendly to big business so they'd probably kill this in it's cradle.

Even if there's still a case in December it will take years to resolve.

This is a step in the right direction, and it's a major development, but it isn't guaranteed to bear any fruit.

 

[Corona]

Thank god. Ticketmaster is brutally overpriced, has ridiculous fees and their resale system is garbage.

Bidgoat bless. 120m votes looms.

 

[Pliny Pete]

As someone that goes to a lot of concerts, it would be nice not to pay an extra 75% in bullshit fees and charges but these high ass ticket prices are here to stay, the acts and their management arent gonna magically drop their prices after we've proven that we will keep on paying them
Thanks a lot, Stub Hub

 

[Gutter Chris]

As someone that goes to a lot of concerts, it would be nice not to pay an extra 75% in bullshit fees and charges but these high ass ticket prices are here to stay, the acts and their management arent gonna magically drop their prices after we've proven that we will keep on paying them
Thanks a lot, Stub Hub

40 bucks a ticket for the freaking suicide machines Pete! I used to see these mother fuckers for like 7 bucks . And God only knows where most of that money goes to as it isn't going to the machines.

Used to be able to go to punk ska shows without having to pay live Nation and ticket Master and I have no idea how they managed to get their mitts on everything but they did.

 

[Blayt7hh]

40 bucks a ticket for the freaking suicide machines Pete! I used to see these mother fuckers for like 7 bucks . And God only knows where most of that money goes to as it isn't going to the machines.

Used to be able to go to punk ska shows without having to pay live Nation and ticket Master and I have no idea how they managed to get their mitts on everything but they did.

Best part is that the band is probably making less now than when you paid 7 bucks

It’s nice to see them going after a monopoly but there is so many industries where this kind of shit is happening now I wish they were going after a more important one. Maybe Ticketmaster is just the easiest because they’re so egregious

 

[RoastBeast]

Aren't monopolies supposed to be illegal?

Nice to see the DOJ going after them but I can pretty much guarantee you that nothing will come of it and the scam will continue.

 

[avenue94]

Aren't monopolies supposed to be illegal?

Nice to see the DOJ going after them but I can pretty much guarantee you that nothing will come of it and the scam will continue.

Monopolies are not illegal, only improperly obtained ones. And the case may actually produce results, but that's contingent on the Justice Department continuing its current trajectory. A Trump or GOP administration would effectively end cases like this.

 

[RoastBeast]

Monopolies are not illegal, only improperly obtained ones. And the case may actually produce results, but that's contingent on the Justice Department continuing its current trajectory. A Trump or GOP administration would effectively end cases like this.

Trust me, no administration will do shit about this. It's all a dog and pony show to try and make people believe like they're doing something.

 

[Lonesome Crow]

Sauce: FoxBiznez




I wonder why it took 30 years to do it.

Because Irving Azoff is no longer running Ticketmaster. When he was in charge, they were bullet proof. After the merger he was still on the board. Now he's probably fully divested of his shares and it's open season.

 

[Belaya Smert]

About damn time

 

[avenue94]

Trust me, no administration will do shit about this. It's all a dog and pony show to try and make people believe like they're doing something.

That's objectively untrue. Linda Khan's tenure has seen a marked increase in antitrust aggressiveness that has sank several attempted M&A, including Amazon/iRobot. Even when the FTC has failed to block acquisition (Microsoft/Activision), it wasn't for a lack of effort and at times regulators were able to get concessions.

What did Trump's administration do in the realm of antitrust that compares?

 

[Sinister]

Trust me, no administration will do shit about this. It's all a dog and pony show to try and make people believe like they're doing something.

Live nation dropped like $2.4m in lobbying SINCE the investigation began. Seems they dont share this general nonchalance over it.

 

[ObsoleteSoul]

Fan-fucking-tastic.

Used to love going to shows, but the prices have gotten so out of hand, that I only go to shows I can pay at the door. For the most part... Just cannot stomach paying these exorbitant costs that are not even going to the artists.

 

[RemyR]

Smash them into a million pieces IMO. I think this one thing both the left and right can agree on.

 

[Rob Battisti]

Live nation dropped like $2.4m in lobbying SINCE the investigation began. Seems they dont share this general nonchalance over it.

Money has no bearing on legislation

 

[Rob Battisti]

Fan-fucking-tastic.

Used to love going to shows, but the prices have gotten so out of hand, that I only go to shows I can pay at the door. For the most part... Just cannot stomach paying these exorbitant costs that are not even going to the artists.

The worst are “processing fees”. Total scam

 

[ObsoleteSoul]

The worst are “processing fees”. Total scam

Indeed. They are the cost of doing business pushed onto the consumer. There is nothing being done that needs a processing fee when it comes to buying tickets, or even something like Uber Eats.