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The Future. Live Nation Entertainment (LYV) is under federal investigation again. The company (which formed in 2010 when Live Nation and Ticketmaster merged services), controls 70% of the ticketing and live event venues markets, but that may not last if the government finds the firm guilty of abusing its monopoly.
Are you not entertained?
CNBC reported on the event giant’s long and troubled history with regulators and creators.
- In 2010, Live Nation and Ticketmaster were allowed to merge if they accepted a consent decree that prohibited Live Nation from punishing venues for using a ticketer other than Ticketmaster…
- … But in 2019, the DOJ found LYV guilty of doing just that. LYV settled with the government and extended their consent decree.
- Then LYV drew widespread ire in November 2022, when demand for tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour crashed Ticketmaster, and many pre-registered fans were unable to get tickets.
- Now the DOJ’s investigating LYV again for potential abuse of its monopoly position to stifle industry competition.
Bombing with the audience
The chorus of people who object to LYV’s practices has only grown louder. Clyde Lawrence of the band “Lawrence” testified in Tuesday’s Senate hearing that LYV’s control over ticketing and event venues has allowed them to force Lawrence to ticket through their platform in many cities.
The 2010 merger legally requires LYV to give their rival, Anschutz Entertainment Group, access to their ticketing software to enable competition. But Anschutz claims that LYV locked them out during the Taylor Swift fiasco. LYV may be about to get booed off the stage
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