When tickets for Taylor Swift’s latest tour went on sale in November, Ticketmaster was overwhelmed by forces inside and outside of its control, which resulted in a ticketing fiasco. Looking for reasons, many seized upon Ticketmaster’s market power in ticketing and the broader live music industry, especially after its 2010 merger with Live Nation. As FTC Chair Lina Khan quipped, the fiasco “converted more Gen Zers into anti-monopolists overnight than anything I could have done”. In this episode, we dive into the origins and contemporary manifestations of the Ticketmaster-Live Nation monopoly. (Recorded 9 December 2022)

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Learn more about the hosts:

Kay Jebelli, Counsel to the Computer & Communications Industry Association - Twitter (@KayJebelli), LinkedIn, SSRN

Friso Bostoen, Max Weber Fellow at the European University Institute  - Twitter (@BostoenFriso), LinkedIn, SSRN

Further reading:

• Friso Bostoen & Jozefien Vanherpe, ‘Competition Law in the Digitized Music Industry: The Winners Take It All—But Should They?’, CPI Antitrust Chronicle, February 2021
• U.S. and States v. Ticketmaster and Live Nation (Complaint, 25 January 2010)
• Christine Varney, ‘The TicketMaster/Live Nation Merger Review And Consent Decree In Perspective’ (Speech, 18 March 2010)
• Songkick v. Live Nation/Ticketmaster (Complaint, 22 December 2015)
• Ben Sisario & Graham Bowley, ‘Live Nation Rules Music Ticketing, Some Say With Threats’ (The New York Times, 1 April 2018)
• Maureen Tkacik & Krista Brown, ‘Ticketmaster’s Dark History’ (The Prospect, 21 December 2021)