The American Prospect: Senators Berate the Ticketmaster Monopoly
The very first hearing of the 118th Congress was a bipartisan condemnation of Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster, as a vertically integrated monopoly that rips off fans, shortchanges artists, and intimidates promoters and venues.
Senate Judiciary Committee chair Richard Durbin (D-IL) kicked off the hearing by saying, “Ticketing and live entertainment markets lack competition and are dominated by a single entity.” And members in both parties almost unanimously agreed, highlighting Live Nation’s retaliation against venues that work with competitors, hoarding of customer data, and disinterest in investing to deal with bots and scalpers that raise prices for fans.
…
In a statement for the Break Up Ticketmaster Coalition, Sports Fans Coalition executive director Brian Hess said that for years the coalition “has fought Ticketmaster at the state and federal levels over their abuse of market power and how they restrict fan access to games.”
…
“Ultimately, the senators were well versed on ticketing issues and willing to get into the weeds on the need for transparency, all of which is promising in my mind,” said Krista Brown, a senior policy analyst at the American Economic Liberties Project.