In recent years, Ticketmaster has faced increasing backlash over its service fees and alleged anti-competitive practices. As the primary ticket provider for many major concerts and events, Ticketmaster essentially holds a monopoly that allows it to charge high fees with little recourse for consumers. This has led many to question who has the power to challenge Ticketmaster and advocate for more consumer-friendly ticketing practices.
What is Ticketmaster?
Ticketmaster is a ticket sales and distribution company based in Beverly Hills, California. It sells tickets for concert, sports, and theater events on behalf of event organizers through its website, mobile apps, and retail outlets. Ticketmaster has contracts with many major venues, artists, and promoters that grant it exclusive rights to sell tickets for events at a given venue or on a given tour. This gives Ticketmaster significant control over the primary ticket market.
Key facts about Ticketmaster:
- Founded in 1976
- Subsidiary of Live Nation Entertainment since 2010
- Sold over 485 million tickets in 2019 worth $35.3 billion
- Charges service fees on every ticket sold through its platform
- Has exclusive ticket sales agreements with many major venues and promoters
Why do people take issue with Ticketmaster?
The main complaints about Ticketmaster include:
High service fees
Ticketmaster tacks on substantial service fees onto every ticket purchased through its platform. These fees can add over 20% to the base ticket price. Many view these fees as excessive given that Ticketmaster faces little competition.
Anti-competitive practices
Ticketmaster’s exclusive contracts with venues and promoters make it very difficult for competitors to challenge its position. There have been accusations of it stifling competition through coercion and blocking rivals from entering the market.
Lack of transparency
Critics argue that Ticketmaster does not provide enough transparency around its fees. Pages emphasizing low ticket prices often hide the full costs until later in the purchasing process.
Reselling tickets through secondary sites
Ticketmaster owns secondary ticket exchanges like Vivid Seats where tickets are resold at inflated prices. It profits twice – first from initial fees and again from reseller fees.
What legal action has been taken against Ticketmaster?
There have been several major lawsuits and investigations into Ticketmaster over anti-competition and anti-consumer behavior:
Pearl Jam vs. Ticketmaster (1994)
The rock band Pearl Jam took issue with Ticketmaster’s high fees and filed an anti-trust complaint. Though their efforts sparked a DOJ investigation, Ticketmaster’s practices were ultimately deemed legal at the time.
String Cheese Incident lawsuit (2001)
The band String Cheese Incident sued Ticketmaster for allegedly threatening venues that worked with their independent ticketing service. The case was settled out of court.
Ticketmaster v. RMG Technologies (2017)
Ticketmaster sued RMG for selling ticket-buying bot software that allowed resellers to unfairly purchase bulk tickets. RMG was ordered to pay $4.5 million in damages.
US Senate investigation (2018)
A Senate investigation found deceptive practices by Ticketmaster and other major ticketing companies. No major legal action resulted, but it prompted public outrage.
Who are Ticketmaster’s major competitors?
While Ticketmaster remains dominant, some competitors have made inroads in event ticketing by offering lower fees and more customer-friendly policies. Major Ticketmaster competitors include:
| Competitor | Description |
|---|---|
| AXS | Digital ticketing platform owned by AEG that has deals with major venues like Staples Center. |
| SeatGeek | Ticket resale marketplace that has primary ticketing deals with some NFL, NBA, and MLS teams. |
| Universe | Independent ticketing company used by artists like Pearl Jam to avoid Ticketmaster. |
| Ticketfly | Provides white label ticketing services for venues and promoters. |
However, Ticketmaster’s exclusive contracts and Live Nation’s vast control over concerts and venues limit how much market share these rivals can realistically obtain.
What power do artists have against Ticketmaster?
Big-name artists have some leverage to fight Ticketmaster given their ability to draw crowds and revenues. Stars like Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, and Metallica have spoken out and taken stands against Ticketmaster over the years. However, given Ticketmaster’s entrenched position in the industry, outright boycotts are very difficult to pull off successfully.
That said, high-profile artists refusing to work with Ticketmaster would certainly apply pressure and raise awareness around the issue. Artists have the following options to potentially curb Ticketmaster’s power:
- Demand lower/no service fees for their shows
- Negotiate ticket fee transparency for fans
- Add contract clauses allowing for independent ticket sales
- Publicly criticize Ticketmaster’s practices to sway public opinion
- Coordinate boycotts with other top artists
But such efforts would likely require broad artist solidarity and fan support to truly upend the status quo. Otherwise, Ticketmaster can simply rely on all the artists without the same star power and negotiating leverage.
What power do venues have against Ticketmaster?
Venues and event organizers also have some ability to challenge Ticketmaster by refusing to renew exclusive ticketing agreements. For example, Madison Square Garden in New York chose to partner with Ticketfly instead of renewing with Ticketmaster in 2019. However, because Ticketmaster has contracts with so many major venues, promoters, and sports leagues, venue operators have limited bargaining power.
Realistically, it would take a coordinated effort by multiple major venues in a given city or market to pool their selling power and cut ties with Ticketmaster. But the risks and financial costs of not being able to book Live Nation events could be too high for most individual venues to drop Ticketmaster on their own.
What role do lawmakers and regulators play?
Government oversight bodies like the Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and state attorneys general have the most power to investigate and penalize Ticketmaster for anti-competitive practices. While Ticketmaster is currently operating legally, increased public scrutiny could spur regulators to take a fresh look at possible violations of antitrust law.
Some actions regulators could potentially take include:
- Investigating exclusive venue contracts for anti-competitive behavior
- Forcing Ticketmaster to divest secondary resale sites like Vivid Seats
- Requiring more transparent fee disclosures to consumers
- Blocking further Ticketmaster mergers and acquisitions
However, regulators would need to see clear consumer harms to intervene more forcefully. As evidenced by past lawsuits and probes, proving outright antitrust violations has been challenging.
Conclusion
Ticketmaster has accumulated immense market power through decades of mergers, acquisitions, and exclusivity deals. This makes challenging its dominance quite difficult for artists, venues, and competitors alone. While public backlash is growing, the most likely avenue for meaningful reform lies with government regulators intervening to promote greater competition and transparency.
Absent heavier oversight, Ticketmaster enjoys natural barriers to entry that will likely reinforce its position for years to come. But if consumer discontent reaches fever pitch, we could potentially see meaningful legal, legislative, or regulatory action to disrupt the decades-old ticketing status quo.
