The Case against LIVE NATION and TICKETMASTER

This issue presented by:
The Sync Center

21 Plaintiff States v. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. and Ticketmaster L.L.C.

Introduction

1. One monopolist serves as the gatekeeper for the delivery of nearly all live music in America today: Live Nation, including its wholly owned subsidiary Ticketmaster. In Live Nation’s words, it is the “largest live entertainment company in the world,” the “largest producer of live music concerts in the world,” and “the world’s leading live entertainment ticketing sales and marketing company.” Indeed, Live Nation is all these things, to the detriment of fans, artists, venues, and competition.

2. Today, musical artists must rely on promoters, venues, and ticketers to organize the business of playing live music. These service providers should work to serve the interests of artists and fans. Genuine competition for and among these service providers would generate the best, most cost-effective, and fan-friendly experience. But the world live music fans live in today is far from that.

3. Live Nation directly manages more than 400 musical artists and, in total, controls around 60% of concert promotions at major concert venues across the country. Live Nation also owns or controls more than 265 concert venues in North America, including more than 60 of the top 100 amphitheaters in the United States. For comparison, its closest rival owns no more than a handful of top amphitheaters. And, of course, through Ticketmaster, Live Nation controls roughly 80% or more of major concert venues’ primary ticketing for concerts and a growing share of ticket resales in the secondary market.

4. The live music industry, like other heavily concentrated industries, is largely controlled by a well-known group of insiders who lead multiple interconnected companies with numerous conflicts of interest. These insiders have spent decades amassing, fortifying, and exercising power, particularly against anyone who seeks to disrupt the now-standard industry business practices and conduct. These business practices can, and often do, work against the interests of those with relatively little power and influence, especially working musicians and fans. These insiders often speak to each other, and work together, as allies and partners rather than as vigorous competitors.

-------------------------------------------------------------

WHO AM I? If we haven’t yet before - Hey 👋 I’m John, a guitar player turned entrepreneur and I’ve somehow built a holding co that builds media businesses. Publish advisory materials for training artists. Through my videos here on this channel, my podcast Hacking Music and writing, I share evidence-based strategies and tools to help you build a career you actually want.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Tune in to Hacking Music for more. Hacking Music is an execution platform for action takers, moment makers and record breakers. Our mission is to serve the world by strengthening the next generation of artists and help you connect with the people that care the most [ your fans ] https://www.hacking-music.com 

-------------------------------------------------------------

Special thanks to our sponsors, ArtistWerx and The Sync Center, for their support. Their contributions towards the music industry provide valuable opportunities for artists to thrive.

ArtistWerx is an execution company. We partner with managers to provide infrastructure, marketing, execution and monetization in the rapidly changing media industry. We create products and experiences to engage your customers, drive revenue, build careers and surpass your competitors. https://www.artistwerx.com 

The Sync Center - Trusted by Fortune 50 companies, Filmmakers, Ad Executives, Networks, and Major Film Studios. The Sync Center is a full-service music supervision and licensing company that has managed projects for hundreds of clients including national and global brands, agencies and cultural events. https://thesynccenter.com

• ​I loved the new Steve Martin documentary (especially episode one)

• ​Jay Acunzo's new podcast about (Song Exploder for storytelling) aired its first episode

Have your own win/announcement to share? Hit reply for consideration.

John Pisciotta

Say hi on YouTube, Instagram, or LinkedIn

Book a 1:1 Results Call

Partner with Hacking Music