Ticketmaster retains a median of $7.58 of the value of every ticket for occasions at main concert venues, an lawyer for New York state advised jurors at a trial on Tuesday during which dozens of states are searching for to recoup damages for followers.
Ticketmaster and its dad or mum firm, Live Nation, are accused of abusing their market energy to prop up unlawful monopolies within the concert industry. The trial in Manhattan might consequence within the US Department of Justice arguing for a breakup of Live Nation and Ticketmaster or the businesses paying compensation to ticket purchasers.
The DoJ and the attorneys normal of New York and 38 different states plus Washington DC declare the leisure conglomerate dominates live-event markets in ways in which harm artists, venues and followers.
“Today, the concert ticket industry is broken, in fact the concert industry itself is broken,” DoJ lawyer David Dahlquist advised jurors in his opening assertion. “It is controlled by a monopolist. It is controlled by Live Nation.”
Ticketmaster retains extra in charges than rivals such as AXS, in keeping with an knowledgeable’s estimate cited by Jonathan Hatch, an lawyer for New York state. Fans within the states searching for damages are estimated to have overpaid between $1.56 and $1.72 for tickets, Hatch stated.
“We are talking about real money coming out of people’s wallets,” he stated.
Live Nation lawyer David Marriott advised jurors that Ticketmaster takes about 5% of what followers pay for tickets. The firm is not a monopolist and faces fierce competitors throughout the industry, he stated.
“Every customer we get is a hard-fought battle in a competitive marketplace,” he stated.
Singer Kid Rock and Ben Lovett of the band Mumford & Sons are anticipated to testify on the trial, as are executives from rival ticketing corporations and venues, together with Madison Square Garden. The DoJ alleges within the case filed in 2024 that Live Nation holds unlawful monopolies in sure venue and ticketing markets. Live Nation is accused of requiring artists to make use of its concert promotion providers in the event that they carry out on the out of doors amphitheaters it owns.
The DoJ additionally alleges the corporate’s Ticketmaster arm dominated ticketing providers via threats and multi-year unique contracts with main concert venues. Arun Subramanian, a US district decide, not too long ago lower a number of claims from the case, however rejected Live Nation’s request to pause the trial to permit it to enchantment. The US Federal Trade Commission has filed a separate case in opposition to Ticketmaster, accusing the corporate of permitting exploitative ticket resellers to flout its guidelines and gouge followers.
