Live Nation/Ticketmaster Sued in Monopoly Lawsuit

[Johnny Makarov]

It sure took long enough.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/23/tech/...uit/index.html

The long-expected lawsuit, filed in New York by the Justice Department and 30 state and district attorneys general, challenges the country’s biggest ticketing website and concert promoter, which regulators allege was the mastermind of a plan to stifle competition. The governments are seeking a jury trial and a breakup of the company. A request for a jury trial is unusual: Recent antitrust lawsuits have asked for a judge to rule, because they can be long and get into complicated law.

If successful, the case could lead to sweeping changes in the market for live events – an industry that came under intense scrutiny in 2022 after glitches at Ticketmaster blocked millions from purchasing tickets for Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour.

[Engine09]

Music fans have despised Ticketmaster for years, before Pearl Jam spoke up and tried to do something about it. I remember it was during the Tragically Hip's farewell tour that the general public became aware and now especially with the Taylor Swift tours.

I thought I couldn't hate them more that I did, they they came out with "dynamic pricing".

[Julio]

Axs, which is TM's biggest competitor, is a service I have used a bunch, and if anything I find Ticketmaster a better choice.

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by Engine09

Music fans have despised Ticketmaster for years, before Pearl Jam spoke up and tried to do something about it. I remember it was during the Tragically Hip's farewell tour that the general public became aware and now especially with the Taylor Swift tours.

I thought I couldn't hate them more that I did, they they came out with "dynamic pricing".

Bot re-seller pricing 50-100X more 5 mins after tickets were released was pretty offputting.. lol

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

I went to buy tickets to the NHL Draft (Day 2) not too long ago. I logged on and saw they were $26 and figured not too bad if you want to just check out The Sphere. Go through the whole process, final screen doubles the ticket cost and then some. Something like $55 where more than half are fees of one kind or another. No thank you.

[wittynickname]

Originally Posted by Julio

Axs, which is TM's biggest competitor, is a service I have used a bunch, and if anything I find Ticketmaster a better choice.

I went to a concert while I was in Stockholm back in March, the venue used AXS and I'm not sure it's the company or that it was their Swedish subsidiary but it was seamless (despite the fact that I messed up and missed the 'would you like us to translate this to English?' link) and the fees were negligible. (Approximately $15USD for 2 tickets, including insurance)


I think it's just that North America suffers because the US has spent so long letting ticket vendors get away with whatever they want.

[GGG]

I think Ticketmaster does the best job out of any group.

The Taylor Swift issue is ridiculous to be a catalyst. The problem was excessive demand at the prices the tickets were being sold at. Millions were being left without tickets regardless of what method was use. Secondly there were no measures taken to prevent resale. Swift did not prohibit ticketmaster from reselling. There were no lead booker policies in place (even though they are rarely enforced they chill the resale market)

Resale is the problem, that isn’t a monopoly issue.

[dubc80]

Lets just go back to when we had to stand in line in-person.

Your high demand hockey/concert tickets were at the mercy of how quickly Shirley (working the Tuesday morning shift at the Ticketmaster kiosk) could navigate their system.

[Bill Bumface]

Ticketmaster has this great "feature" where they make it look like there are a very few available seats to generate the perception of scarcity. You pay a bunch for a ticket thinking that if you don't it will sell out, only to show up to a half full venue where your seat mate paid half as much because they waited a few more weeks.

Completely scammy and should be illegal.

[curves2000]

Although this looks like it's a monopoly and I hope it does get broken up, I also think this was something that has the eyes of the Democrats as being politically popular leading up to the election. A lot of younger voters who attend concerts and events have been clamoring for this for a long time.

Smart move to have this lawsuit now and I hope it's something that ends up leading to serious change.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Bill Bumface

Ticketmaster has this great "feature" where they make it look like there are a very few available seats to generate the perception of scarcity. You pay a bunch for a ticket thinking that if you don't it will sell out, only to show up to a half full venue where your seat mate paid half as much because they waited a few more weeks.

Completely scammy and should be illegal.

It’s pretty much the worst kept secret at this point that you can wait until the day-of for Ticketmaster shows and save anywhere from 40-70%.

Sure you miss out on the few that actually sell out. But that’s kind of rare.