Concert-goers on Thursday celebrated the Justice Department’s lawsuit against Live Nation and its subsidiary Ticketmaster, which has long been accused of monopoly control over ticket sales for live events in the United States.
Music lovers took to social media to question why it took the government so long to take action against Live Nation. This is particularly questionable given the frequent complaints from ticket buyers who said they had been victimized by the company’s price gouging.
Aerosmith fans based in Australia Posted on Reddit He complained that he had to pay an exorbitant fee for two tickets to the band’s New Year’s Eve concert in Boston.
“Concert admission is probably around $10,” wrote a Reddit user known as “scottywiper.”
He said he had to pay more than $120 in fees after buying two tickets to an Aerosmith show in Boston.
“WTF! Tickets were $311, or $770 for two,” he wrote, adding that he was “not impressed.”
William Pierre Louis, a Washington, DC-based public policy analyst, posted a screenshot of his $49.50 purchase of tickets to a show by R&B performer Tank at the MGM National Theatre near Maryland.
“The price for one ticket was $49.50. When I tried to check out, the total price immediately rose to $71.00,” Pierre-Louis wrote to X.
“Are you sure this is okay?”
another a Reddit commenter wrote He said he wanted to buy Ringling Bros. Circus tickets for himself and his girlfriend.
The face value of the seats was $35 each, but I ended up paying $113 including fees and taxes.
“Actually, what the heck,” he wrote.
Live Nation denied the government’s claim that it was a monopoly.
company issued a statement on its website He said Thursday that the lawsuit “will not reduce ticket prices or service fees.”
“The rise in ticket prices is the fault of concert promoters and ticket sales companies (neither of whom have control over ticket prices),” Live Nation said in a statement.
The company said the Justice Department was ignoring “all of the real causes of ticket price inflation, from rising production costs to the popularity of artists to 24/7 online ticket buying and selling that reveals a public willingness to pay far more than tickets should cost.”
Ticketmaster will “retain only a small portion” of the fee for its service, according to the statement.
