Setting the Record Straight | Facts About Live Nation Entertainment
Statement From Live Nation Entertainment
The DOJ’s lawsuit won’t solve the issues fans care about relating to ticket prices, service fees, and access to in-demand shows. Calling Ticketmaster a monopoly may be a PR win for the DOJ in the short term, but it will lose in court because it ignores the basic economics of live entertainment, such as the fact that the bulk of service fees go to venues, and that competition has steadily eroded Ticketmaster’s market share and profit margin.
Our growth comes from helping artists tour globally, creating lasting memories for millions of fans, and supporting local economies across the country by sustaining quality jobs. We will defend against these baseless allegations, use this opportunity to shed light on the industry, and continue to push for reforms that truly protect consumers and artists.
- Live Nation and Ticketmaster's annual 1.4% annual net profits are the opposite of monopoly power.
- There is more competition than ever in the live events market – which is why Ticketmaster’s market share has declined since 2010.
- This lawsuit distracts from real solutions that would decrease prices and protect fans – like letting artists cap resale prices.
Legal Analysis
Breaking Down the DOJ Lawsuit
"It ignores everything that is actually responsible for higher ticket prices, from increasing production costs to artist popularity, to 24/7 online ticket scalping that reveals the public's willingness to pay far more than primary tickets cost." Further analysis will be forthcoming. Check back for updates.
Read MoreSetting the Record Straight on the 2010 Live Nation Ticketmaster Merger
"In today's primary ticketing market, venues are able to organize robust competitive bidding among Ticketmaster, SeatGeek, AXS and others so that if they choose Ticketmaster — the product that a large majority of venues want to buy — they get Ticketmaster at highly competitive prices. Those are simply the facts. And they do not describe a monopolized market."
Read MoreHow Secondary Sites Misuse Antitrust to Protect Their Business
"If the government wants to take action that genuinely helps consumers – which is to say, fans – it should pass federal legislation, preempting contrary State legislation, giving artists, sports teams and other event organizers clear rights to set the resale rules for their shows."
Read MoreThe Truth About Ticket Prices
"Tickets are actually priced by artists and teams…It's their show, they get to decide what it costs to get in. Fans are also told that service charges are Ticketmaster's way of raising ticket prices. In fact, Ticketmaster does not set service charges, venues do, and most of the money goes to the venues."
Read MoreFact Check
The merger between Live Nation and Ticketmaster has been a topic of intense debate and frequent misinformation. This Fact Check clarifies commonly misreported facts, providing accurate information and context.
Myth #1
Ticketmaster doesn't innovate and is "too big to care" which is what led to issues during the Eras tour onsale in November 2022.
Fact
The issues during this onsale were caused by a novel cyber-attack. While the bots failed to penetrate our systems or acquire any tickets, the attack required us to slow down and even pause our sales. Our engineers working behind the scenes built new defenses in real-time, and sales were ultimately able to progress later in the day.
Myth #2
Ticketmaster sets ticket prices and is responsible for price gouging.
Fact
Primary ticketing companies like Ticketmaster do not set ticket prices. Tickets are generally priced by artists and teams. It's their show, they should determine the price of their tickets. A primary ticketing company only gets about 5% of the total transaction, a figure far too low to be the cause of high-ticket prices.
- Sports tickets are normally priced by the home teams. Concert tickets are generally priced by the artist’s business teams. Tickets to spectacles like Monster Jam or Cirque du Soleil are priced by the producer. Ticketmaster does not set the ticket prices for primary tickets, and on resale marketplaces prices are always set by the ticket seller.
- While prices for front row seats get all the press headlines, the majority of artists are pricing their tickets well under market value – in fact 65% of tickets for U.S. concerts are under $100.
- Resale heavily contributes to increased prices, with average resale prices double the original ticket price set by the artist.
Sources: - Live Nation News Site | The Truth About Ticket Pricing
Myth #3
Ticketmaster keeps 100% of ticketing service fees.
Fact
Most fees go back to the venue – they typically keep over two-thirds of the service fee. Ticketmaster's commission is usually about 5% of the all-in price paid by the consumer. So, on a $100 all-in ticket, Ticketmaster gets $5. Venues use their majority share of service charges to help cover the costs of operating the facility and hosting shows, including expenses for staffing, security, venue improvements and more.
- A typical contract will provide that in exchange for its services and some guaranteed cash payments to the venue, the ticketing company will get a stated percentage of the service charge the venue intends to impose.
- If fees add 30% to the face value of a ticket, the primary ticketing company is getting something in the range of 5% of the all-in price – which is much lower than the distribution cost of other online platforms. This 5% isn’t pure profit. The ticketing company has various expenses it needs to cover, including guaranteed payments to venues and the development and deployment of its technology platform. A primary ticketing company’s profit per ticket is closer to 2% of the average ticket price, a figure far too low to be the cause of high-ticket prices.
Sources: - The Truth About Ticket Pricing
Myth #4
Ticketmaster wants to hide fees.
Fact
We strongly believe there should be an all-in pricing law in the U.S. so on all ticket marketplaces consumers see the full cost upfront including the face value + fees. Live Nation's venues and festivals already moved to all-in pricing in Fall 2023.
Myth #5
Ticketmaster opposes ticketing reforms.
Fact
Live Nation and Ticketmaster have long supported robust all-in pricing rules, banning speculative ticket selling and other predatory resale practices, enhancing anti-bot legislation and giving artists the right to determine how their tickets are resold. The company proactively advocates for these reforms at the state and federal levels.
Myth #6
Ticketmaster allows bots to get tickets to make more money on the resale of the ticket.
Fact
Ticketmaster's singular goal regarding bots is to stop them, period. Ticketmaster invests more than everyone else in the industry combined to prevent bots from acquiring tickets intended for real fans. The problem is not Ticketmaster's level of effort, but the arms race with bad actors whose only incentive is to constantly develop new methods of using bots to circumvent Ticketmaster security.
- As Axios reported, “Ticketmaster developed ‘Face Value Ticket Exchange’ originally for one-time foe Pearl Jam, for a tour that was announced just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s since been used by other artists, including The Cure and Paramore. The basic idea is that ticketholders can only resell via the Ticketmaster platform, and only for what they originally paid. Neither Ticketmaster nor the artists receive a cut of the secondary sales.”
- Ticketmaster is the only resale site not run with a broker-first business model. Instead, Ticketmaster is guided by Live Nation’s artist-first approach which focuses on supporting artists’ careers and improving the live event experience for their fans. As a result, resale is a small part of Ticketmaster’s overall business, as the platform’s core focus is primary sales that benefit content owners like artists and sports teams. In fact, the majority of the secondary transactions Ticketmaster is accused of encouraging actually benefit other companies, not Ticketmaster.
- Ticketmaster acknowledges resale—done right—can benefit consumers by offering flexibility to recoup their money if they can no longer attend a show. Ticketmaster’s resale marketplace operates to a higher standard by banning speculative ticketing and offering Verified Resale, which guarantees fans get in the door, while other resellers like SeatGeek and StubHub just give refunds when tickets don’t work, leaving the fan shut out of the show.
- Ticketmaster’s Face Value Fan-to-Fan Exchange, which was originally developed for Pearl Jam, has recently been used by artists including Hozier, Cigarettes After Sex, Noah Kahan, Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam, Wilco, PJ Harvey, Ben Howard, Luke Combs, Norah Jones, Something Corporate, Billie Eilish and more.
Sources:
- Axios | Why you can’t find cheap Taylor Swift concert tickets
- Senate Judiciary Archive | Live Nation Testimony
Myth #7
Ticketmaster has no competition.
Fact
Most large venues in the U.S. (stadiums and arenas) are owned and operated by major sports teams, who make the ticketing decisions for their venues. Ticketmaster does not control any of them.
Myth #8
Ticketmaster "controls" ticketing at many large venues across the country.
Fact
Many large venues in the U.S. are owned and operated by major sports teams, who are in charge of ticketing protocols at their venues.
Myth #9
Ticketmaster uses venue exclusivity to defend its market share.
Fact
Venue exclusivity exists for two reasons: venues hardly ever want to have two primary ticketing companies, and exclusive contracting is the best way for them to get the best deals. In other words, exclusive contracting is not about Ticketmaster; it is what venues want.
About Live Nation Entertainment
Expert Analysis on the Industry, Ticketmaster & Reforms
The Truth About Ticket Prices
“Ticket prices have nothing to do with Ticketmaster. If anything, a remedy will help other promoters, who will be able to participate in ticket resale by using another platform. But if you think any change is going to trickle down to the consumer, you’re delusional.”
read more
How to Fix the Market for Event Tickets
“The key point I want to emphasize is that what’s NOT A CHOICE is to set a below‐market price, and then just hope and pray that fans will get the mispriced tickets, and there won’t be a fervent secondary market…that’s just a never‐ending cat‐and‐mouse game between the primary market and the brokers. The economically reliable way to get tickets to fans and not have them get resold, is to either set a market‐clearing price in the first place, or to prohibit resale.”
read more
Ticketmaster Takes Aim at Resale Sites, Scalpers with ‘Fair Ticketing Act’ Proposal
“Owner of both the eponymous live music promoter as well as ticketing giant Ticketmaster — is advocating for federal laws that could weaken scalpers’ ability to mark up ticket prices and gouge customers for in-demand concerts…protecting artists’ ability to decide how their tickets can sell on the secondary market.”
read more
Everyone hates Ticketmaster. Is everyone wrong?
“There are likely no fixes beyond raising prices, adding more dates or shutting off secondary markets.”
read moreEveryone hates Ticketmaster. Is everyone wrong?
“If Ticketmaster gets regulated, you’ll invite some new problems, because Ticketmaster solved a lot of them.”
read more
Why are tickets so much cheaper in Europe?
“The reason for the huge difference in price, experts say, is due in part to longstanding consumer skepticism about resale tickets in most of Europe. That’s coupled with a much more aggressive regulatory environment where artists and consumers are empowered to report and remove illegal ticket listings, and where prices are kept low thanks to laws limiting how high tickets can be marked up over face value. ‘The European approach is significantly different from that of the United States, where ticket resale is not regulated and deceptive marketing practices, including the use of deceptive websites and speculative ticket listings, continue unabated despite widespread outcry from consumers.’”
read more
Ticketmaster fees: ‘There’s a real lack of understanding,’ analyst says
“So the venues are taking 75%-plus of that fee, and Ticketmaster only 25%. And I don’t think most fans actually understand that.”
read moreOn Pricing
Full Rate No Cap
“Almost none of this is determined by Ticketmaster. The artist determines if they want to use dynamic pricing. The artist sets the prices. And the artist can insist on using a combination of Verified Fan and Face Value Ticket Exchange to ensure that there is no scalping, as Pearl Jam succeeded in doing on their last tour. The only markets where Pearl Jam could not control this is in the markets where States have passed well-intentioned, but horribly misguided laws “protecting” consumers—laws that ban placing limits on resale.”
read moreBruce Springsteen Breaks Down His R&B Covers LP — and Responds to Fan Outrage Over Ticket Prices
“But ticket buying has gotten very confusing, not just for the fans, but for the artists also. And the bottom line is that most of our tickets are totally affordable. They’re in that affordable range. We have those tickets that are going to go for that [higher] price somewhere anyway. The ticket broker or someone is going to be taking that money. I’m going, ‘Hey, why shouldn’t that money go to the guys that are going to be up there sweating three hours a night for it?’ It created an opportunity for that to occur. And so, at that point, we went for it. I know it was unpopular with some fans. But if there’s any complaints on the way out, you can have your money back.”
read more
The Truth About Ticket Prices
“Tickets are actually priced by artists and teams…It’s their show, they get to decide what it costs to get in. Fans are also told that service charges are Ticketmaster’s way of raising ticket prices. In fact, Ticketmaster does not set service charges, venues do, and most of the money goes to the venues.”
read moreThe Truth About Ticket Prices
“All I can say is we live in a post-truth society. You make up your own facts. Ticketmaster is the devil and they’re taking advantage of those damn acts and you. This might feel right, but it’s patently untrue.”
read more