Live Nation Entertainment says it knows many music and sports fans hate the company and blame it — and subsidiary Ticketmaster — for sky-high ticket prices.
But the executive vice-president of the world’s largest entertainment company insists the conglomerate is not a monopoly and should not be broken up.
But Wall defended his company and said he will fight moves to split up Ticketmaster and Live Nation after a recent landmark verdict by a U.S. federal jury.
Day 1 “Can you name a single significant competitor in your market?” “…” “We rest our case your honor”
There’s more to the case than that. Sole presence in a market does not make you a de-facto monopoly.
What makes [Ticketmaster+Live Nation] a monopoly is its mass-acquisition of venues, which are rented out with contracts that stipulate that the event must sell admission through Ticketmaster. This is why performers like Taylor Swift call out Ticketmaster publicly, while still selling tickets through them. For most stadium events; if you don’t use Ticketmaster, you don’t have a place to perform.