Does Amazon own Ticketmaster?

No, Amazon does not own Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster is owned by Live Nation Entertainment, which is the world’s largest live entertainment and ticketing company. Amazon has no ownership stake in Ticketmaster or Live Nation.

Who owns Ticketmaster?

As mentioned, Ticketmaster is a subsidiary of Live Nation Entertainment. Live Nation was formed in 2005 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. Prior to the merger, Ticketmaster had been an independent company since it was founded in 1976. Here is a brief overview of Ticketmaster’s ownership history:

• 1976 – Founded as an independent company
• 1991 – Acquired by MCA Inc.
• 1995 – Sold to Saban Entertainment
• 1996 – Sold to USA Networks
• 1998 – Spun off as a public company, Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch is formed
• 1999 – Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch purchases Ticketmaster Group
• 2000 – Ticketmaster and CitySearch demerge into two separate companies again
• 2005 – Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp purchases Ticketmaster
• 2008 – Ticketmaster and Live Nation merge to form Live Nation Entertainment

So in summary, Ticketmaster functioned as an independent company for the first 15 years after it was founded. It then went through various parent companies in the 1990s and early 2000s before being purchased by IAC in 2005. Finally, in 2008 it merged with Live Nation to create the combined Live Nation Entertainment company that exists today.

What companies did Ticketmaster merge with over the years?

Here are some of the major mergers and acquisitions involving Ticketmaster over the years:

• 1991 – Acquired by MCA Inc., a major entertainment company
• 1995 – Sold to Saban Entertainment, an entertainment company owned by Haim Saban
• 1996 – Sold to USA Networks, a media and e-commerce company (later became IAC/InterActiveCorp)
• 1998 – Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch formed as joint venture between Ticketmaster and CitySearch
• 1999 – Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch purchased Ticketmaster Group to rejoin the two companies
• 2008 – Merged with Live Nation to form Live Nation Entertainment

The main mergers were with MCA, Saban Entertainment, USA Networks/IAC, CitySearch, and Live Nation. The most impactful was the 2008 merger with Live Nation, which resulted in the combined global live events and ticketing giant that exists today.

What are the other major subsidiaries of Live Nation Entertainment?

In addition to Ticketmaster, Live Nation Entertainment owns and operates many other live entertainment brands and subsidiaries. Some of the major ones include:

• Live Nation – The world’s largest concert promoter. Produces over 40,000 events annually.
• House of Blues – A chain of music halls and restaurants located in major markets across the US.
• TicketWeb – An independent secondary ticketing provider focused on smaller events.
• Universe – A self-service ticketing platform for venues.
• Ticketmaster Resale (formerly TicketsNow) – A secondary ticket marketplace.
• Front Gate Tickets – A provider of ticketing services for music festivals and other big events.
• LN-HS Concerts – Promotes music concerts at schools and colleges.
• Concert.com – An online platform for live concert streams and virtual events.

So in summary, while Ticketmaster is Live Nation’s primary ticketing brand, it owns and operates a large portfolio of companies across various live entertainment services.

What percentage of Live Nation Entertainment does Ticketmaster make up?

Ticketmaster makes up a significant portion of Live Nation Entertainment’s business. In its 2021 financial results, Live Nation reported the following revenue mix:

• Ticketing: $1.49 billion revenue (27% of total)
• Concerts: $5.05 billion revenue (92% of total)
• Sponsorship & Advertising: $428 million revenue (8% of total)

So Ticketmaster accounted for around 27% of Live Nation’s total 2021 revenue of $5.49 billion. The concerts division, which includes venue operations and concert promotion, made up the majority at 92% of revenue. Sponsorship & advertising made up the remaining 8%.

Ticketmaster is clearly a major and important part of Live Nation’s business, responsible for over a quarter of its total revenue. It provides ticketing services not just for Live Nation concerts and venues, but for major sports leagues, festivals, theaters and other clients across the live entertainment industry.

What is the relationship between Ticketmaster and Live Nation?

As the primary ticketing subsidiary of Live Nation, Ticketmaster has a very close relationship with the Live Nation concerts division. Ticketmaster provides ticketing services and technology to the vast majority of Live Nation owned and operated venues, concerts, and festivals. This was one of the main strategic reasons behind the Live Nation-Ticketmaster merger in 2008, to integrate ticketing and live events.

However, it’s important to note that Ticketmaster also provides ticketing services for many events and venues that are not owned by Live Nation. Ticketmaster has ticketing deals with major sports leagues like the NFL and NBA, major concert venues like Madison Square Garden, and large independent promoters like AEG. So it operates as a fairly independent ticketing company, even though its parent is the world’s largest concert promoter.

The integrated Live Nation-Ticketmaster model has received criticism and antitrust scrutiny over the years for potentially stifling competition in ticketing and live events. But thus far, the relationship persists, with Live Nation relying heavily on Ticketmaster for its ticketing technology, platforms and services across its owned and operated live entertainment assets.

Does Amazon have any kind of partnership or deal with Ticketmaster or Live Nation?

No, as of now there is no major partnership or deal between Amazon and Ticketmaster/Live Nation. Amazon does not have an ownership stake in Live Nation Entertainment or any of its subsidiaries.

Amazon has been rumored as a potential buyer of part or all of Live Nation/Ticketmaster at various times over the past few years. But thus far these have just been unconfirmed rumors reported in the media. There are no official reports or announcements of any impending deals between the companies as of October 2022.

Amazon has been aggressively expanding into new business areas in recent years, so an expansion into live entertainment and ticketing would theoretically make sense. Amazon has launched initiatives like Amazon Tickets and Amazon Music aimed at competing with certain parts of Live Nation’s business. But it has yet to make a definitive entry into the core ticketing or concert promotion markets that Live Nation and Ticketmaster dominate currently.

Could Amazon potentially buy Ticketmaster or Live Nation in the future?

It is certainly possible that Amazon could attempt to acquire all or part of Live Nation Entertainment, including Ticketmaster, at some point in the future. Here are some reasons why it could make strategic sense for Amazon:

• Gain instant dominance in the massive live events/ticketing ecosystem
• Combine with Amazon Tickets and Amazon Music initiatives
• Cross-sell opportunities to Amazon’s 200+ million Prime member base
• Leverage Amazon tech and supply chain to transform ticketing/events
• Expand Amazon’s entertainment ecosystem into live experiences

However, there are also some major challenges and potential roadblocks to such a deal:

• Live Nation’s current market cap is around $25 billion – making it a very large and expensive acquisition
• Would draw intense antitrust scrutiny from regulators
• Complex process of integrating the two different company cultures
• Live music industry may oppose acquisition by a tech giant like Amazon

Given these obstacles, any potential Amazon-Ticketmaster deal could face significant hurdles. But the strategic benefits of combining forces could motivate Amazon to get into the arena. With Amazon’s massive resources and willingness to take bold risks, the possibility of eventually acquiring all or part of Live Nation likely can’t be ruled out entirely.

How does Ticketmaster’s market share in ticketing and live events compare to Amazon’s?

Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation absolutely dominate the live events and ticketing markets, whereas Amazon has minimal presence:

• Ticketmaster has 80-90% market share in primary event ticketing in North America
• Live Nation sold over 95 million tickets in 2021 across its venues and concerts
• Live Nation owns around 200 major event venues across the globe
• Amazon Tickets sold less than 5 million tickets in 2021 by most estimates

So in summary, Ticketmaster-Live Nation has an almost fully dominant position, while Amazon remains a very small player. Amazon Tickets has gained some traction selling tickets to smaller localized events that Ticketmaster tends to not focus on. But it has yet to make any measurable dent in Ticketmaster’s supremacy in high-grossing major concerts, festivals, and venues.

It’s also worth noting that Ticketmaster has faced increasing complaints and scrutiny over its market dominance in recent years, including calls for legal antitrust action against its “monopoly” in ticketing. But thus far it remains nearly unchallenged, making it unlikely Amazon could easily dethrone it without a massive acquisition bid.

Which company’s market cap and annual revenue is bigger – Amazon or Live Nation Entertainment?

As this table illustrates, Amazon is massively larger than Live Nation in both market valuation and annual revenues. Key points:

• Amazon market cap is over 45X greater than Live Nation’s
• Amazon’s annual revenue is nearly 85X higher than Live Nation’s

So in terms of overall company size and scale, Amazon completely dwarfs Live Nation Entertainment. This huge size differential would likely give Amazon the financial capability to acquire Live Nation if it wanted to. But Live Nation’s dominance specifically in live entertainment still makes it very strategically valuable despite the size mismatch.

How difficult would it be for Amazon to acquire or merge with Ticketmaster?

There are a few major reasons why it would be very difficult for Amazon to acquire or merge with Ticketmaster:

• Massive Price Tag – Ticketmaster owner Live Nation has current market cap of around $25 billion, which would make it an extremely expensive purchase
• Antitrust Issues – Amazon buying Ticketmaster would almost certainly get intense regulatory scrutiny as anti-competitive and monopolistic
• Cultural Mismatch – Integrating Ticketing’s live entertainment focus into Amazon’s tech culture would likely be challenging
• Industry Resistance – The wider live music sphere would likely oppose Amazon buying its biggest player Ticketmaster

Amazon definitely has the financial resources to acquire Ticketmaster if it wanted to. But the regulatory hurdles, cultural integration challenges, and industry pushback could pose very significant obstacles.

Amazon would likely need to make a compelling case to regulators that the merger would have public benefits that outweigh anticompetitive concerns. And it would need to slowly integrate the two companies in a way that calms industry fears about Amazon dominating the space. Given these difficulties, any deal would be extremely complex.

What potential positives and risks would there be if Amazon acquired Ticketmaster?

Potential Positives:

• Gain foothold in the lucrative live events/ticketing space
• Leverage Amazon’s technology and resources to improve ticketing
• Cross-sell live event tickets to Prime members
• Strengthen Amazon’s consumer entertainment ecosystem

Potential Risks:

• Massive cost of acquisition for a company that’s been struggling financially
• Regulatory blocking or major concessions required for approval
• Difficulty integrating two very different corporate cultures
• Backlash within the music industry over tech giant control

In summary, Amazon could potentially revolutionize the live events experience and strengthen its entertainment ecosystem by acquiring Ticketmaster. But it would come at massive short-term cost and risk. Antitrust scrutiny, cultural integration challenges, and industry backlash could make it very difficult for Amazon to actually generate value from the deal despite the strategic benefits on paper.

Conclusion

In conclusion, no – Amazon does not currently own Ticketmaster or have any partnership with it. Ticketmaster is owned by Live Nation Entertainment, which has grown into the world’s largest live events and ticketing company since merging with Ticketmaster in 2008.

Amazon is a relatively small player in ticketing, focused mainly on smaller events not served by Ticketmaster. While rumors have swirled about Amazon potentially acquiring all or part of Live Nation/Ticketmaster, no such deal has materialized as of yet.

Such an acquisition could have major strategic benefits for Amazon, but also poses massive financial costs and risks from regulatory scrutiny, cultural challenges, and industry backlash. Given Ticketmaster’s dominant market position, any deal would transform the live entertainment industry but faces substantial obstacles to ever occurring.