Scott Wilk: Break the Ticketmaster/Live Nation ticket monopoly

My first-ever concert experience was Elton John’s legendary 1975 performance at Dodger Stadium. And not to brag, but the whole thing only cost me $10. If you want to see today’s biggest acts $10 won’t even get you a water, and it probably won’t even begin to cover the extra fees tacked on to your ticket at checkout.

I love live music and entertainment, but the experience of buying a ticket is not what it used to be. Bogged down by website glitches, bots, fees and greedy resellers, that frustrating process can spoil what should be a great date night or a fun time out with friends or family.

My own niece could barely afford a minor league hockey game thanks to all the added ticket service fees.

High-profile artists like Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, The Cure and Beyoncé have all made headlines with stories of their fans being put through the wringer trying to get tickets to their shows.

The biggest villain in these stories? Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation that together have a monopoly on the major shows and events that venues want to book.

Since Congress approved the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster in 2010, they have controlled nearly 90% of the live entertainment market. Taking a “my way or the highway” approach, they force venues big and small to accept exclusivity clauses in their contracts.

Those exclusivity clauses give venues access to Live Nation’s entertainment roster, as well as nice kickbacks. But to make up for the kickbacks, Live Nation ultimately rips off the consumer through Ticketmaster’s outrageously high service fees.

Artists have no say in how those fees are calculated, or how they are used. The lead singer in the New York City band Lawrence recently testified in front of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, and claimed Ticketmaster and Live Nation tacked on fees amounting to roughly 40% of the ticket price. In one instance, he claimed the fees were 82% of the ticket price. That is absurd.

This is also happening in sports, comedy and every other live entertainment event for which major ticket sellers have a contract.

In addition to the U.S. Senate paying attention, the states of Tennessee, North Carolina and New York have explored antitrust investigations. Following New York’s investigation, the legislature there offered this solution: Ban exclusivity clauses in contracts between ticket sellers and venues.

That very thing actually happened in Ireland in 2020, when the country’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission called out Ticketmaster, which ultimately agreed to remove exclusivity clauses from contracts in that country.

Taking a page out of Ireland’s book, I have introduced Senate Bill 829, which would put an end to the Live Nation/Ticketmaster monopoly by prohibiting exclusivity clauses in contracts between a primary ticket seller and an entertainment venue in the state of California.

While Ticketmaster is not the only ticket seller this issue applies to, they are clearly the 800-pound gorilla controlling the industry.

At the end of the day, venues can and should be able to do business with whomever they want. There’s certainly no reason why a venue can’t continue to go back to Ticketmaster.

But by simply prohibiting those exclusivity clauses, perhaps some much needed competition can enter the industry so things can begin to balance out.

2023 has some major shows on deck, like Bruce Springsteen, Katy Perry, Ed Sheeran and Blink 182, to name a few. On the heels of the pandemic, people should be able to enjoy a night out without going bankrupt.

My bill addresses a specific problem within the live entertainment industry, but my hope is that it might provide economic relief for Californians from monopolistic corporate greed.

I may be pro-business, but I am not pro-monopoly.

Scott Wilk represents California’s 21st Senate District, which includes the Antelope, Santa Clarita and Victor Valleys.