You Wanted the Best? You Got the Best! If You Can Pay for It... Antitrust Considerations and Artist-Based Solutions for Lower Concert Ticket Prices

Authors

Jake Farbman

Abstract

The live music industry has become increasingly inaccessible to fans as ticket prices continue to rise under the dominance of Live Nation Entertainment and Ticketmaster. Since their controversial 2010 merger, the two companies have consolidated control over both the primary and secondary ticketing markets, fostering anticompetitive practices that allegedly include exclusive venue agreements, coercive bundling of promotion and ticketing services, and dynamic pricing schemes. These practices have drawn widespread scrutiny from lawmakers, regulators, artists, and consumers alike, culminating in the Department of Justice’s 2024 antitrust lawsuit seeking to break up the conglomerate.

This Article traces the historical development of the ticketing industry, analyzes Live Nation and Ticketmaster’s anticompetitive conduct under U.S. antitrust law, and examines price manipulation through bots, scalpers, and algorithmic pricing. Through case studies of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and Oasis’s reunion, it highlights the real-world consequences of monopolization on artists and fans, while surveying legislative and regulatory responses in the United States and abroad. The Article concludes by advocating for a multi-pronged approach—aggressive antitrust enforcement, artist-led initiatives, and targeted legislative reform—to restore competition, lower ticket prices, and preserve live music as an accessible cultural experience for all.

The live music industry has become increasingly inaccessible to fans as ticket prices continue to rise under the dominance of Live Nation Entertainment and Ticketmaster. Since their controversial 2010 merger, the two companies have consolidated control over both the primary and secondary ticketing markets, fostering anticompetitive practices that allegedly include exclusive venue agreements, coercive bundling of promotion and ticketing services, and dynamic pricing schemes. These practices have drawn widespread scrutiny from lawmakers, regulators, artists, and consumers alike, culminating in the Department of Justice’s 2024 antitrust lawsuit seeking to break up the conglomerate.

This Article traces the historical development of the ticketing industry, analyzes Live Nation and Ticketmaster’s anticompetitive conduct under U.S. antitrust law, and examines price manipulation through bots, scalpers, and algorithmic pricing. Through case studies of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and Oasis’s reunion, it highlights the real-world consequences of monopolization on artists and fans, while surveying legislative and regulatory responses in the United States and abroad. The Article concludes by advocating for a multi-pronged approach—aggressive antitrust enforcement, artist-led initiatives, and targeted legislative reform—to restore competition, lower ticket prices, and preserve live music as an accessible cultural experience for all.

Recommended Citation

Jake Farbman, You Wanted the Best? You Got the Best! If You Can Pay for It... Antitrust Considerations and Artist-Based Solutions for Lower Concert Ticket Prices, 32 J. Intell. Prop. L. 1 (2025).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/jipl/vol32/iss2/2