What do do – if anything – about Live Nation and Ticketmaster? That’s a big question this year in the US for the White House and regulators alike, amid ongoing litigation and a recently-launched inquiry into ticketing practices.
As you’d expect, Live Nation is lobbying energetically. Variety reported on its latest submission aimed at the US administration, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission.
According to the report, the company is suggesting reforms including a 20% cap on ticket-resale prices; more control for artists over secondary ticket sales; and – a running theme – stronger enforcement of the existing BOTS Act to combat scalpers and the technology they use.
Other opinions are available, as ever. The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) has just submitted its own public comments to the FTC and DoJ’s live entertainment market inquiry, and Live Nation / Ticketmaster is high on its agenda.
“Independent music venues, promoters, and festivals are being systematically squeezed by Live Nation’s vertically integrated “flywheel” model – spanning ticketing, promotion, venue ownership, artist management, merchandise, advertising, and sponsorship,” claimed NIVA.
It went on to warn of “the cannibalization of independent venues and promoters, with Live Nation-controlled rooms sitting empty rather than booking local talent or working with unaffiliated operators” and makes a series of other allegations about the company’s pressure on grassroots venues.
NIVA wants Live Nation to be broken up into four separate companies: ticketing, promotion, advertising/sponsorship and artist management. Needless to say, Live Nation will be fighting hard to avoid such an outcome.
While this is a US story, elsewhere in the world the company is fielding brickbats too. The UK’s Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) wants that country’s competition regulator to investigate Live Nation, accusing it of “anti-competitive behaviour”.
How shall we best describe the current political and regulatory environment in the US? It’s… unpredictable. Making any guesses about the outcome of anti-trust lawsuits and public inquiries is a fool’s game right now.
There are certainly areas where Live Nation’s goals align with those of the grassroots sector and the wider music industry: on tackling scalping and secondary-ticketing abuses. Of course, in those cases, the secondary platforms who are under fire are throwing their full weight into lobbying against reforms too.
But the debate about whether Live Nation / Ticketmaster is too big, powerful and willing to exert that power in anti-competitive ways is just as loud in the US. This is an increasingly-determined battle to define the future of the live sector in the world’s biggest music market – with rivals and regulators alike across the globe looking on keenly.
