Live Nation Entertainment
Live Nation Entertainment is a prominent California-based company specializing in the promotion and ticketing of live events, including concerts and festivals. Originally established as SFX Entertainment in 1996, it evolved through various ownership changes and was eventually rebranded as Live Nation after merging with Ticketmaster in 2009. This merger sparked significant controversy, with many artists, fans, and regulators expressing concerns about the potential for monopolistic practices within the industry. As of late 2022, Live Nation controlled an estimated 60% of the major concert promotion market.
The company has faced scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), particularly after incidents related to ticketing for high-demand events, such as Taylor Swift's Eras Tour, leading to investigations into its business practices. Despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which drastically reduced its revenue in 2020, Live Nation reported a significant rebound in 2022, marking record attendance at events worldwide. The ongoing discussions around its market influence and ticket pricing practices highlight a complex landscape for fans and artists alike, raising important questions about competition and consumer rights in the live entertainment sector.
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Live Nation Entertainment
Live Nation Entertainment is a California-based company that promotes and sells tickets to live events such as concerts and festivals. It also owns and operates concert venues. The company is divided into concerts, sponsorship and advertising, and ticketing sections. Live Nation started as an events promoter and venue operator, but went into the ticketing business when it merged with Ticketmaster in 2009. Many artists, fans, competing firms, and regulators opposed the merger, believing it would result in a monopoly. In 2022, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it was investigating Live Nation Entertainment for potential abuse of power. Some lawmakers even called for the company to be broken up. In May 2024, the DOJ filed an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment because the company's practice of anticompetitive and exclusionary behavior had resulted in a monopoly. As of July 2024, the company controlled an estimated 80 percent of the market for promotion of major concerts and events.
History
Live Nation Entertainment was first born as SFX Entertainment in 1996, when late media mogul, Robert F. X. Sillerman founded the company. At that time, it was an events promoter and venue operator. In 2000, the company was sold to Clear Channel for $3 billion. It became known as Clear Channel Entertainment and eventually as Live Nation. In 2005, the company reported a $130.6 million deficit for the year, after having a $134.9 million loss in the fourth quarter. In response, the company cut three hundred jobs and scaled back on its regional offices. The company was valued at $1 billion at the time, but had a total debt of around $367 million.
In 2008, then-CEO Michael Rapino started considering ticket sales, which were mostly handled by partner Ticketmaster through an exclusive arrangement that was set to expire. In 2007, Live Nation announced it would be building its own ticketing service. However, Live Nation merged with Ticketmaster in 2009, becoming Live Nation Entertainment with Rapino the new company’s CEO.
At the time, Ticketmaster specialized in online ticketing while Live Nation focused on concert promotions. The merger was first approved in Norway and Turkey in 2009. The United Kingdom’s Competition Commission ruled against the merger, but reversed its decision in December 2009.
The merger was opposed by some artists, fans, regulators, and competing firms, who said it would reduce competition in the industry. David Balto, an anti-trust attorney at the Center for American Progress Action fund, testified in the Senate that the merger would “cut off the air supply” for any future rival companies and diminish competition in the industry.
In January 2010, the DOJ approved the merger pending certain conditions. These included Ticketmaster selling ownership of its self-ticketing company, Paciolan, and licensing its software to Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), to allow the company to compete with Ticketmaster “head to head.” Ticketmaster and Live Nation officially announced they had completed their merger on January 25, 2010. At this time, Ticketmaster common stock ceased trading, with Ticketmaster stockholders receiving 1.474 shares of Live Nation common stock for each share of Ticketmaster common stock that they owned at that time.
In 2018, the DOJ launched an investigation into Live Nation Entertainment following complaints by AEG that the company pressured them into using Ticketmaster and avoiding booking acts for AEG venues. In 2019, the DOJ amended its original merger agreement with Live Nation Entertainment after discovering the company had violated the terms of the deal by forcing venues to accept Ticketmaster’s ticketing services as a condition of hosting Live Nation performers. The company was also found to have retaliated against venues that refused these terms.
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According to Music Business Worldwide, Live Nation Entertainment was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the third quarter of 2020, the company generated $184 million in revenue—this was a 95 percent decline compared to the $3.77 billion it generated in the third quarter of 2019. The company also announced that a total of 5.2 million tickets were refunded in the third quarter of 2020, representing a little more than $500 million of gross transaction value. However, the company’s shares soared over 22 percent on November 9, 2020, when news broke that a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech had been found to be more than 90 percent effective.
As events started opening back up following the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines, Live Nation Entertainment started rebounding. In early November 2022, the company reported its highest quarterly attendance ever in the third quarter of 2022, with 44 million fans attending 11,000 events worldwide. Over the year, 89 million fans attended 31,000 events. The company called 2022 the biggest summer concert season in history, and said the results demonstrated an ongoing and increasing demand for live events globally. In addition, it said that inflation had not caused any demand decreases.
Also in November 2022, the DOJ announced its plans to investigate the company for potential abuse of power in an anti-trust investigation. This was following major issues with ticketing for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, which included technical difficulties and long wait times. Swift expressed her frustration with Live Nation Entertainment, saying her team reached out to the company multiple times to ensure that it could handle the large demand, which it assured it could. US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that Ticketmaster was a monopoly and its merger with Live Nation should never have been approved. Senator Amy Klobuchar wrote Rapino about her concerns including system failures, increasing fees and complaints of conduct. This all followed previous calls for antitrust enforcement from organizations like the American Economic Liberties Project, which alleged the company participated in price-gouging. The group sent a letter to the DOJ, which said Ticketmaster was “ripping off” sports and music fans. According to US senators Richard Blumenthal, Amy Klobuchar and Edward J. Markey, Ticketmaster prices have more than tripled in the past twenty years.
In 2024 the DOJ, along with 30 additional states and district attorneys, filed an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment. The lawsuit accused the company of monopolization and unlawful conduct designed to thwart competition in the market. The complaint was filed in the Southern District of New York and claims that Live Nation violates Section 2 of the Sherman Act, resulting in the depravation of ticket innovation for music fans across the country. Many attribute the dysfunction of ticket sales to the Eras Tour as the catalyst for the lawsuit.
Bibliography
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“Fan Demand for Concerts Continues Hitting Record Levels.” Live Nation Entertainment, 3 Nov. 2022, www.livenationentertainment.com/2022/11/live-nation-entertainment-reports-third-quarter-2022-results/. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.
"Justice Department Sues Live Nation-Ticketmaster for Monopolizing Markets Across the Live Concert Industry." Office of Public Affairs, 23 May 2024, www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-live-nation-ticketmaster-monopolizing-markets-across-live-concert. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.
“Live Nation Entertainment.” Forbes, 2022, www.forbes.com/companies/live-nation-entertainment/?sh=5698f75576a3. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.
“Live Nation Entertainment History,” Zippia, www.zippia.com/live-nation-entertainment-careers-6885/history/. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.
“Live Nation.” Music Business Worldwide, 2020, www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/companies/live-nation/. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.
“Live Nation, Ticketmaster May Need Breakup, Some Senators Say.” Reuters, 22 Nov. 2022, www.reuters.com/world/us/live-nation-ticketmaster-may-need-breakup-some-senators-say-2022-11-22/. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.
Strauss, Matthew, and Madison Bloom. “Justice Department to Investigate Live Nation Entertainment for Potential Abuse of Power.” Pitchfork, 18 Nov. 2022, pitchfork.com/news/justice-department-to-investigate-live-nation-entertainment-for-potential-abuse-of-power/. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.
“TicketMaster and Live Nation Agree to $2.5 Billion Merger.” Tech Crunch, 10 Feb. 2009, techcrunch.com/2009/02/10/ticketmaster-and-live-nation-conduct-25-billion-merger-create-live-nation-entertainment/?guccounter=1. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.