Pop superstar Taylor Swift completed her Eras Tour in 2024, ending a two-year global phenomenon that became the highest grossing tour of all time. Eras was Swift’s first tour since COVID-19, and its economic impact was such a drastic change from lockdown that financial analysts started calling it the “TSwift Lift.” And even though the tour has come to a close, it could still have a gargantuan cultural impact in 2025 as the U.S. Department of Justice sues Ticketmaster, the company responsible for selling tickets. The groundbreaking antitrust lawsuit accuses its parent company Live Nation of illegally monopolizing the live event market.
It all started when tickets for Swift’s Eras tour went on sale in 2022: Ticketmaster crashed in the first hour of sales and blocked millions of people from purchasing tickets. As a result, Scalpers and bots scooped up tickets and resold them for extremely high prices. Fans were so furious that Congress started to investigate Ticketmaster and whether its 2010 merger with Live Nation had created a monopoly. Then last month the Department of Justice filed its lawsuit which, if successful, could force Live Nation to sell Ticketmaster. The company responded by calling the claim “absurd” because it does not make a significant profit from running live events even when it does dominate the market.
The result of the lawsuit will have a major impact on live music and events around the world, which seems to be a popular possibility among American consumers. According to a recent survey, 60 percent of respondents said they support efforts to break up Live Nation and Ticketmaster. In fact, thirty-nine states have joined the lawsuit as co-plaintiffs. What happens next will depend on the approach of the new presidential administration taking office in 2025. In the meantime, music fans say they’re still paying extreme prices for live shows. As one parent put it, “it can be hard to explain to your daughter that it’s cheaper to take a two-week trip to Japan than it is to see Taylor Swift once.”
Questions:
- Why is Ticketmaster’s parent company Live Nation facing a antitrust lawsuit from the federal government?
- Do you think Live Nation qualifies as a monopoly that should be broken up into smaller entities? Why or why not?
Sources: Amrita Khalid, “It’s Not Just Tickets And Fees: How Live Nation Quietly Takes Your Money At Every Possible Opportunity,” Sherwood Media, Dec. 5, 2024. Allison Morrow, “The Eras Tour’s Greatest Legacy May Be The (Possible) Breakup of Ticketmaster,” CNN, Dec. 10, 2024.