A Senate committee on Monday issued a subpoena to Live Nation for documents related to the company’s ticket pricing, fees and resale practices as part of a previously private investigation into the company’s business tactics. .
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), said in a press release that the subpoenas come after months of investigation.
“Live Nation has seriously obstructed my subcommittee’s investigation into its abusive consumer practices, necessitating the subpoena,” Blumenthal said. “This subpoena requires us to promptly comply with requests for documents essential to understanding our business practices.”
Blumenthal said the commission began its investigation following several high-profile incidents, including those affecting fans of Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen. Another committee, the Senate Judiciary Committee, held its own hearing on the company’s business practices earlier this year.
“American consumers deserve fair ticket prices, without hidden fees or predatory charges,” Blumenthal added. “And the American people deserve to know how Ticketmaster’s wrongful conduct is enabled by its abuse of monopoly power.”
Blumenthal is requesting a wide range of materials, including documents and internal communications about Live Nation and Ticketmaster’s ticket prices, fees and resale practices. The company also requested documentation regarding its relationships with artists and venues, according to a press release.
The subpoenas included requests for annual financial data on fees, ticket price recommendations, secondary ticketing, communications related to last year’s high-profile cases, and customer feedback on prices and fees.
In its subpoena, the commission said the company “failed to combat artificially inflated demand fueled by bots in multiple high-profile cases, resulting in consumers being charged exorbitant ticket prices.” It clearly stated that it would request all records related to this matter.
In a statement to The Hill, a Live Nation spokesperson denied allegations of obstructing the committee, saying the company “voluntarily cooperated with the subcommittee from the beginning and provided extensive information. “I have met with the staff several times.”
A Live Nation spokesperson said the company has taken “standard confidentiality measures” to provide some of the information the commission is seeking, including information about “artist and client compensation and other equally confidential matters.” ” he said.
“So far, the subcommittee has declined to provide such assurances, but we intend to provide additional information on these issues should those protections be implemented.” the person in charge said.
Hill asked the Senate committee for a response.
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