Concerts, the USA is preparing an antitrust crackdown on the giant Live Nation to curb the cost of tickets

The eyes of competition marshals in the United States are not only on Big Tech. The Department of Justice is in fact preparing a lawsuit against Live Nation, a giant in the promotion of events and the sale of related tickets which according to the Wall Street Journal would soon be placed in the Authority’s sights (we’re talking about next month).

The usual well-informed sources have not specified the details of the charges against Ticketmaster’s parent company (with which it merged in 2010), what is certain is that there is talk of exploitation of a dominant position capable of defeating the competition for purchasing tickets to live events.

Live Nation has long been criticized for the increase in show costs and there is pressure to end the partnership. Since 2022, the Department of Justice has been investigating the size and power achieved by the giant in the supply chain that goes from the promotion of concerts, to the sale of tickets and the management of venues and performance spaces. An investigation that accelerated the engine after Ticketmaster crashed during the pre-sale of tickets for Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” in November 2022.

Live Nation has also tried to defend itself from the accusations with public interventions, saying that prices are not set arbitrarily by Ticketmaster (which has 80% of the primary ticket market, with exclusivity agreements with many stadiums, arenas and arenas) but by artists whose events are sold, and that the law of demand (high) and supply (low) determines the upward equilibrium. According to the company, most of the compensation goes to the event venues.