The Justice Department Opens Investigation Into Ticketmaster/Live Nation

This is a breaking news story - but maybe something will happen regarding the Live Nation/Ticketmaster monopoly! Thank you Taylor Swift (fans).

The investigation was apparently already underway and then the Taylor Swift ticket debacle happened this week, accelerating things.

Breaking News: The Justice Department has opened an antitrust investigation into the owner of Ticketmaster, whose sale of Taylor Swift tickets descended into chaos this week, focused on whether Live Nation has abused its power over the live music industry. https://t.co/bNAWGXhYyU

— New York Times Music (@nytimesmusic) November 18, 2022

Comments

[fletch]

AOC is reportedly spearheading this. That's hope that Ticketmaster gets what they deserve. I blame TFG.

[Him]

This is news. But I doubt they will be able to tear down the layers and layers of crap that made such conglomerations a reality. And I say that recognizing full well that we need some of these sorts of things to exist . . . or we think we do.

And that, for me, is the sticking point: you can't aim your cannon at the ones that aren't nice today without thinking out the plan when it comes to those that are not okay tomorrow (never mind the past . . . as a once reputable scholar once said: "today was tomorrow yesterday"). I am on record (not CD) speaking ill of Ticketmaster. But you touch my favorite multi-media company that provides me with close to friction-less service? Oh no you don't!!!

The simple two questions are: (1) where does it start? and (2) where does it stop? Those answers complicate things a bit, no matter how much Bruce's fan and the Swifties have gotten their knickers into a pretzel (which is difficult when you consider the whole process of making an actual pretzel).

[GNR]

1) Standardize fees - no longer can the same "ticket" or process for a $40 Killers show and a $400 Taylor Swift show need to be different fees. No more work, effort, technology, etc... goes into making "fees" a disparity between events. Similar to an NSF fee at a bank. It's $30 for a $50 check or $30 for a $500 check.

2) Make tickets non-transferable (secondary market). Easily done with technology and tokens we have today.