Ticketmaster: An Anti-Hero in the Live Entertainment Industry

If you didn’t experience the heartbreak (or joy) following Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour ticket release, you probably heard about the chaos unleashed on Ticketmaster that day.  More than 3.5 million people pre-registered for Taylor Swift’s “Verified Fan” presale.[1]  Of those people, around 1.5 million were sent codes to join the on-sale, while the remaining 2 million fans were placed on a waiting list.[2]  On the first day of the presale, a record 2 million tickets were sold[3] —but by the second day, Ticketmaster experienced issues and insufficient ticket supplies that led them to cancel the public on-sale date, leaving millions of ticketless fans fed up with their practices.[4]  Many fans took to social media to vent their frustrations.  One fan tweeted, “[i]t’s me. Hi. I’m the problem it’s me”[5] alongside a photo of a Ticketmaster logo—a play on Swift’s recent song, Anti-Hero.[6]

Following the incident, Swift fans sued Ticketmaster, accusing the company of fraud, price-fixing, and antitrust violations.[7]  Antitrust laws prohibit conduct by a single firm that unreasonably restrains competition by creating or maintaining monopoly power.[8]  The Sherman Act outlaws every contract, combination, or conspiracy in restraint of trade,[9] and any monopolization, attempted monopolization, or conspiracy or combination to monopolize.[10]  Courts first ask if the firm has monopoly power in any market and then whether the leading position was gained or maintained through improper conduct.[11]  Firms may legally have monopoly power through superior products or conduct,[12] but may not engage in anti-competitive practices to obtain or sustain monopoly power.[13] 

Prior to the recent Taylor Swift controversy, the Department of Justice opened an investigation into Live Nation Entertainment’s— Ticketmaster’s parent company—alleged abuses of its power in the multibillion-dollar live music industry.[14]  In 2010, Ticketmaster and Live Nation merged to form Live Nation Entertainment, Inc.[15]  Antitrust advocates opposed the merger because at the time, Ticketmaster was the dominant provider of ticketing services, controlling eighty percent of the market,[16] and Live Nation was the world’s largest concert promoter and venue operator.[17]  Opponents argued that the combined company would create a monopoly in the ticket distribution market and diminish competition in independent concert promotion.[18]  Nonetheless, the Department of Justice approved the merger under a ten-year consent decree, subject to a few conditions.[19]  As part of the decree, Ticketmaster was required to sell its ticketing subsidiary,[20] Paciolan, to license its ticketing software to another rival, AEG,[21] and to not retaliate against concert venues that worked with other ticketing companies.[22] 

However, in 2019, before the expiration of the consent decree, the Department of Justice (DOJ) found Live Nation repeatedly engaged in conduct that violated the consent decree by using its dominant position in the live music industry to force artists and venues to use its ticketing and concert promotion services.[23]  Specifically, Live Nation conditioned their provision of live concerts for a venue, so long as the venue uses Ticketmaster’s ticketing services.  Furthermore, they retaliated against venues that used competing ticketing services.[24]  In response to these violations, the DOJ extended the consent decree by five and a half years, adding language to clarify that Ticketmaster could not retaliate against venues that wanted to work with ticketing competitors and imposed monetary penalties for violations.[25]  The consent decree did little to preserve and promote ticketing competition.  To protect consumers, if the DOJ finds further violations, it may result in harsher punishment or in reversing the merger entirely.

The Taylor Swift controversy re-sparked the conversation on if Ticketmaster holds a monopoly over the live entertainment ticketing industry and if it should be broken up.  On January 24, 2023, the Senate Antitrust Committee held a hearing on the potential anticompetitive behavior of the company and harm to consumers.[26]  The committee’s concern is that Ticketmaster’s dominant position and lack of competition has detrimental effects on competitors and consumers.  Twelve plus years after the merger, Ticketmaster controls more than seventy percent of the market for ticketing and live events,[27] while simultaneously serving as the promoter, venue and ticketing company for tours.[28]  As a result, competitors risk losing the revenue they earn from Live Nation concerts if they move their primary ticketing business away from Ticketmaster,[29] and consumers face paying large hidden fees[30] that are divided among the venues, promoters, artists, and Ticketmaster,[31] even though Live Nation often serves as the promoter.[32]  Additionally, artists face issues with ticketing—all because Ticketmaster has no incentive to get things right when they’re a monopoly that will not lose customers due to lack of competitive alternatives.[33]  Artists in the past have tried to push back against Ticketmaster with no luck.  In the 1990s, Pearl Jam battled with Ticketmaster over ticket prices and service fees and tried to tour without working with them.[34]  However, after an unsuccessful tour, the band manager told the Washington Post, “I regret to say that it is impossible for a major rock group to put on a national tour under the current circumstances without Ticketmaster.”[35]  He further stated, “[i]n the end, you just have to face the fact that Ticketmaster calls the shots and give in to it.”[36] 

Everyone was looking at Ticketmaster to get things right when Beyonce announced her Renaissance World Tour on February 1, 2023.[37]  Ticketmaster changed their approach by using a divided registration into three groups, each with its own staggered registration deadlines and presale dates. [38] Though some fans were unable to snag tickets, the Beyonce ticket release seemed to run smoother than Taylor Swift’s ticket nightmare.[39]  However, as major musical artists begin touring again, this will not be the last time Ticketmaster has to deal with a large world tour.  

Recently, Live Nation—alongside many management groups, artist coalitions, and music labels—announced its support of “FAIR” Ticketing Reforms.[40]  Together, the live entertainment industry “is calling on policymakers to enact common sense reforms that protect fans, artists and the vitality of the live entertainment industry.”[41]  The list of five reforms aim to combat a large part of the problem in the live entertainment ticketing industry: bots and scalpers.[42]  This reform comes at a time when fans, Congress, and the DOJ have scrutinized Ticketmaster’s ticketing practices for antitrust violations.  Ticketmaster and Live Nation have captured the attention of the entire live entertainment industry, and all will be watching to ensure they are on their best behavior.

[1] “Verified Fan” presale is Ticketmaster’s tool for ensuring tickets are sold to humans rather than bots. See Taylor Swift The Eras Tour Onsale Explained, Ticketmaster (Nov. 19, 2022), https://business.ticketmaster.com/business-solutions/taylor-swift-the-eras-tour-onsale-explained/.

[2] Id.

[3] Id.

[4] Madison Bloom, Taylor Swift Fans Sue Ticketmaster Over Eras Tour Ticketing Fiasco, Pitchfork (Dec. 4, 2022), https://pitchfork.com/news/taylor-swift-fans-sue-ticketmaster-over-eras-tour-ticketing-fiasco/.

[5] Taylor Squared VEGAS N2 (@TaylorScquaredTS), Twitter (Nov. 15, 2022, 8:21 AM), https://twitter.com/TaylorSquaredTS/status/1592553397391360000?cxt=HHwWgIDUlZK48ZksAAAA.

[6] Taylor Swift, Anti-Hero, on Midnights, at 00:45 (Republic Records 2022).

[7] Bloom, supra note 4.

[8] Monopolization Defined, FTC, https://www.ftc.gov/advice-guidance/competition-guidance/guide-antitrust-laws/single-firm-conduct/monopolization-defined (last visited Mar. 2, 2023).

[9] Sherman Antitrust Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1.

[10] Sherman Antitrust Act, 15 U.S.C. § 2.

[11] Monopolization Defined, supra note 8.

[12] Id.

[13] J.D. Warren, Is Swift Retribution in the Offing for Ticketmaster?, U.C. Riverside, https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2022/12/15/swift-retribution-offing-ticketmaster (last visited Mar. 2, 2023).

[14] David McCabe & Ben Sisario, Justice Dept. Is Said to Investigate Ticketmaster’s Parent Company, N.Y. Times (Jan. 24, 2023), https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/18/technology/live-nation-ticketmaster-investigation-taylor-swift.html.

[15] Matthew Strauss & Madison Bloom, Justice Department to Investigate Live Nation Entertainment for Potential Abuse of Power, Pitchfork (Nov. 18, 2022), https://pitchfork.com/news/justice-department-to-investigate-live-nation-entertainment-for-potential-abuse-of-power/.

[16] Krista Brown & Zach Freed, How Antitrust Enforcers Helped Create a Live Events Monster, Am. Econ. Liberties Project (Oct. 19, 2022), https://www.economicliberties.us/our-work/how-antitrust-enforcers-helped-create-a-live-events-monster/.

[17] Id.

[18] Id.

[19] Id.

[20] Id.

[21] Id.

[22] Id.

[23] Marc Jarsulic, 3 Antitrust Lessons from the Taylor Swift Ticketmaster Debacle, Ctr. For Am. Progress (Nov. 22, 2022), https://www.americanprogress.org/article/3-antitrust-lessons-from-the-taylor-swift-ticketmaster-debacle/.

[24] Plaintiff’s Memorandum in Support of Motion to Modify Final Judgment and Enter Amended Final Judgment at 1, U.S. v. Ticketmaster Ent., Inc., 10-CV-00139 (D.D.C. Jan. 8, 2020).

[25]Office of Public Affairs, Justice Department Will Move to Significantly Modify and Extend Consent Decree with Live Nation/Ticketmaster, U.S. Dept. of Just. (Dec. 19, 2019), https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-will-move-significantly-modify-and-extend-consent-decree-live.

[26] That’s the Ticket: Promoting Competition and Protecting Consumers in Live Entertainment Before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, 118th Cong. (2023), https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/thats-the-ticket-promoting-competition-and-protecting-consumers-in-live-entertainment.

[27] Rachel Treisman, The Senate’s Ticketmaster Hearing Featured Plenty of Taylor Swift Puns and Protestors, NPR (Jan. 24, 2023, 5:09 AM), https://www.npr.org/2023/01/24/1150942804/taylor-swift-ticketmaster-senate-hearing-live-nation.

[28] Id.

[29] Id.

[30] Brown & Freed, supra note 16.

[31] Mendez II, Moises, Why Everyone’s Mad at Ticketmaster Right Now, Time (Aug. 18, 2022), https://time.com/6207167/ticketmaster-ticket-prices-expensive-backlash/.

[32] Brown & Freed, supra note 16.

[33] Jarsulic, supra note 23.

[34] Chuck Philips, Pearl Jam Ends Ticketmaster Boycott, Wash. Post (June 15, 1995), https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1995/06/15/pearl-jam-ends-ticketmaster-boycott/e12dc7d6-2914-4b29-bbab-2a50d8dec45d/.

[35] Id.

[36] Id.

[37] Larisha Paul, Beyonce Announces ‘Renaissance’ 2023 World Tour, Rolling Stone (Feb. 1, 2023), https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/beyonce-renaissance-world-tour-2023-1234671834/.

[38] How to Get Tickets to Renaissance World Tour, Ticketmaster (Feb. 1, 2023), https://blog.ticketmaster.com/beyonce/.

[39] Rachel Treisman, Beyonce Tour Sales Are Off to a Smoother Start. What Does That Mean for Ticketmaster?, NPR (Feb. 7, 2023), https://www.npr.org/2023/02/07/1155150027/beyonce-renaissance-ticketmaster-presale.

[40] FAIR Ticketing Reforms, https://fairticketing.com (last visited Mar. 23, 2023).

[41] Id.

[42] Id.