Photo Credit: Benjamin Sharpe
Thats according to Variety, which pointed specifically to a new packet of material created by the Ticketmaster parent for members of the administration as well as the DOJ and the FTC in particular.
As many know, the latter two agencies, in keeping with a March executive order, kicked off an inquiry into unfair and anticompetitive ticketing practices; said inquirys public-comment window wrapped yesterday.
Unsurprisingly, a substantial portion of the thousands of submitted remarks (some from individuals, some from various execs) involve Live Nation/Ticketmaster and are far from positive.
Then theres the initially mentioned antitrust action (which began during the prior administration), a separate Live Nation congressional inquiry on the sports side, and rumblings of a criminal antitrust probe. And thats not even including a mountain of regulatory woes across the pond, where the DOJ case is actively being cited.
In other words, now is a good a time as any for a strategic pivot from Live Nation in this area. May saw the company add Richard Grenell to its board of directors, and June brought a pledge to invest $1 billion building 18 venues in the U.S.
Keeping the momentum going into the current month, Live Nation in the initially mentioned packet reportedly proposed a 20% cap on resale-pass prices.
Also part of the leading promoters reported pitch are calls to afford artists themselves greater control over secondary ticketing besides ramping up BOTS Act enforcement efforts.
(Live Nation isnt alone in urging additional prosecutions under the scalping-focused law, and separate legislation, the Fans First Act, would implement changes strengthening the measure. But the newer bipartisan bill still hasnt made its way out of committee.)
Time will, of course, tell whether the maneuvers lay the groundwork for regulatory relief on Live Nations end. In any event, given consumers apparent ticketing frustration and the spaces growing list of competitors, jumping into the drivers seat makes sense if regulations are unavoidable.
To be sure, the above-described proposals would affect not just Ticketmaster, but rivals including StubHub, SeatGeek, Vivid Seats, and TickPick, to name some. On a related note, questions remain about whether Ticketmaster is actually benefiting relative to the hit absorbed by the competition, that is from all-in pricing.
