Washington, D.C. — The American Economic Liberties Project released the following statement in response to the unanimous passage of SB 829 in the California Senate, a bill that bans exclusivity clauses in the live events ticketing industry.

“SB 829 is an important first step in reining in corporate giants such as Ticketmaster, who use their size and power to demand exclusivity clauses with live events venues, thus short-circuiting competition and ultimately driving up costs for consumers,” said Pat Garofalo, Director of State and Local Policy at the American Economic Liberties Project. “We applaud Senator Wilk for championing this bill, are thrilled to see it receive overwhelming unanimous, bipartisan support, and hope to see it pass the California Assembly and become law.”

Live Nation-Ticketmaster’s monopoly power depends on the corporation’s dominance over both the nation’s top venues and the infrastructure used to buy and sell tickets, a product of its merger in 2010. As Economic Liberties’ policy quick-take, “How Antitrust Enforcers Helped Create a Live Events Monster” details, that deal was a disaster. In 2010, when Ticketmaster and Live Nation combined, Ticketmaster was already the largest player in the ticketing market. Now, Live Nation-Ticketmaster owns more than 70 percent of the primary ticketing and live event venues market, and uses that power to hike up ticket prices, tack on expensive junk fees, and exploit artists, independent venues, and fans.

Live Nation-Ticketmaster is currently facing increased regulatory pressure for its abuse of monopoly power. During his State of the Union speech, President Biden specifically called out concert tickets as an area rampant with extra fees — sometimes as much as 78% of a ticket — tacked on to purchases. During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the company’s abuses in January, Live Nation-Ticketmaster also faced criticism from a bipartisan set of lawmakers for its many abuses of consumers, artists and venues. The hearing also featured blockbuster testimony from artists and competitors speaking out about the company’s dominance over the industry.

In October 2022, a broad coalition of allies, led by the American Economic Liberties Project, launched #BreakUpTicketmaster, a campaign to urge the Department of Justice to investigate and unwind the Live Nation-Ticketmaster merger of 2010. So far, the Break Up Ticketmaster Coalition has organized over 100K concerned fans, artists, and independent venue owners that want to break Ticketmaster’s power over live events ticketing, artist promotion, and venue ownership.

Learn more about the Break Up Ticketmaster Coalition here.

Learn more about Economic Liberties here.