Three Decades Later, Ticketmaster’s Monopoly Faces Fresh Scrutiny

Do you remember Pearl Jam's feud with Ticketmaster? A little more than 30 years ago Pearl Jam was so upset with Ticketmaster that they actually went to the Department of Justice and filed a complaint. 

At the time, it was unheard of. Pearl Jam wound up cancelling their tour plans and rescheduling everything at independent venues that were not Ticketmaster venues. In some ways, it almost killed the band. They did persevere, and as of 1998, are now back to working with Ticketmaster. 

That was then.

Well, the behemoth that was Ticketmaster then merged with Live Nation in 2009 and now it has become Live Nation Entertainment, and you might think that at this point someone would say, wait a minute, the world's largest concert company and the world's largest ticket company are now the same company, how did this happen? Many of us who were avid concert goers were appalled by the thought but are now heartened by the possibility that some action might be taken. 

According to msn.com,
’The United States federal government and seven states are suing Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation Entertainment, for failing to crack down on ticket resellers, which is forcing customers to “pay substantially more than face value” for popular concerts and and events.’ 

The federal trade commission cited issues like “bait and switch Pricing” where ticket buyers wind up paying prices that are much higher than advertised, and that Ticketmaster imposes strict limits on the number of tickets you can purchase, even though they allow ticket brokers to exceed those limits regularly. 

Ticketmaster controls ticketing for approximately 80% of all large venues in the United States.  

So now the FTC and Live Nation Entertainment get to go to court, and the question is, will Eddie Vedder be happy with the results?
The FTC is suing Live Nation and Ticketmaster over ‘illegal ticket resale’ practices
FTC Sues Live Nation and Ticketmaster for Engaging in Illegal Ticket Resale Tactics and Deceiving Artists and Consumers about Price and Ticket Limits | Federal Trade Commission
Eddie Vedder on Pearl Jam's battle with Ticketmaster, 30 years on | Louder