The answer is capitalism, I know.
But it wasn’t always like this. Why the hell are they allowed to absolutely monopolize all shows and venues? How are there not laws on this?
Is stopping going to any shows the only way to fix this? If so, that wont happen. People are gonna go see their favorite bands (and ticketmonster knows it)
I wish this one was as easy as getting rid of all my streaming services - but they really fucked us over for live shows.
We were warned in the 90’s.
Ticket Ghost of Ticket Future: “Don’t buy from Ticketmaster”
Me, in the Present: “Okay, but I still want to go to the concert”
Ticket Ghost: “You’re going to feel weird in ten years, when you find out what Kanye gets up to. But you do meet someone at the event to hook up with, have an on-again off-again relationship for three years, the sex is amazing but you’re on totally different career tracks. You end up seeing other people, and now you live in the same neighborhood and your kids are friends. Which is nice but also a bit weird at parties.”
Me: “Wow. That’s… a lot to take in.”
Ticket Ghost: “Sorry, bro. I tried to warn you two weeks ago not to take those edibles because they’d give you psychic premonitions, but you hadn’t taken the edibles yet so you couldn’t listen…”
Me: vomiting sounds as I clutch the toilet
So do the partners know about y’alls past boinking?
Vedder said do better.
“Can’t find a better man.”
There are currently lawsuits against them, but it takes time. This is from NC Attorney General Jeff Jackson’s newsletter earlier this year:
"The People vs. Ticketmaster/Live Nation
I’m forcing myself to only pick one case to go into detail about - but it’s a great one.
Let’s say you want to make a bunch of money by supplying live entertainment, primarily the music industry.
Well, the three big pieces in that business are:
The venue
The right to promote the event
The right to sell the tickets
Now imagine you control each of those. You own venues, and you promote the events, and you sell the tickets.
Congratulations - you’re a monopoly.
You’ve achieved vertical integration within your business, which means the sum of those parts has unlocked the ability to gouge customers with the confidence that they won’t be able to find a competitor to offer them a better deal. And using your monopoly to further entrench your power to charge customers higher prices is against the law.
This is exactly what I, along with a bipartisan group of AGs, allege that Ticketmaster/Live Nation has done.
They’ve turned concert ticket fees into something fans call the “Ticketmaster Tax.” These are the “convenience fees,” “processing fees,” and “handling fees” that add up quickly, inflating ticket prices by huge margins.
Why can they get away with it? Because they’ve locked venues into exclusive contracts, squeezing out any chance of competition.
But it gets worse. If venues try to resist and explore other options, Live Nation retaliates by threatening to strip venues of popular acts. The internal emails from Live Nation executives detailed in our lawsuit are explicit and awful.
Which means, if you’re an independent venue that doesn’t use Ticketmaster, good luck booking artists. Ticketmaster controls ticket sales and Live Nation controls promotion, so artists who are promoted by Live Nation typically won’t be allowed to perform at venues that refuse to use Ticketmaster for ticketing.
This is textbook unlawful monopoly behavior. Consumers are paying higher prices and artists and venues are suffering from reduced competition and income.
The good news is that Live Nation just tried - but failed - to get our lawsuit dismissed. That’s a big step toward accountability, including our ultimate request that Live Nation be required to divest Ticketmaster, which it acquired in 2011 and which became the linchpin for much of their monopolistic behavior."
oh wow what a well written excerpt.
He is the most levelheaded, respectful, and transparent politician I’ve ever seen. I’ve been following him for years because he will explain what he’s working on in a way that doesn’t insult your intelligence nor play into the drama of politics. During his time in the US House of Representatives, his newsletters would sometimes explain the theatrics of government shutdowns and orchestrated outrage from other members. Even then, he didn’t name anyone specifically or sling mud. I’ve encouraged people from all kinds of political perspectives to follow his newsletters. He’s a great example of how a representative should be, and I genuinely believe that’s just part of his personal ethos.
And congratulations, the current US administration now considers you a terrorist. Complaining about being abused and exploited is anti-capitalist.
Something happened in the last 20 years where billionaires were able to buy the government and monopolies are now no longer illegal or controlled.
I have a rare one, i’ve NEVER purchased a ticket through ticketmaster, so i’m glad they never got my money. Too much free/cheap live music local to me anyway.
Citizens United
I’m pretty sure Reagan’s administration decided to just stop enforcing anti monopoly stuff
Nothing will meaningfully improve until the rich fear for their lives
yikes. you can chill mate.
This perspective is what a reasonable person arrives to after learning why things have not meaningfully improved in their lifetime.
uh, hard disagree with the “reasonable”. the small echo chamber isn’t the whole world.
I’m talking about observable reality…
If a reasonable person figures out that no peaceful avenue for change has been left, they will accept that we have to do something else.
It has nothing to do with Lemmy
echo chambers exist outside the internet
Nope, they’re spot on.
A LOT of people need to feel unsafe leaving their homes.
jesus, this is sad to see. hope you get help mate.
You’re part of the problem.
Only one thing ever stopped Nazis.
good thing they arent in power anymore
yeah they are lol do you live under a rock? the world is ran by pedophiles and racists
didn’t know my prime minister is a pedo or racist.
Oh okay, you’re playing the clueless MAGA game. Cute. My four year old does something similar now and then, but more convincingly.
Thanks for reminding me that we have to deal with you people up here too.
I’m not MAGA lol
How does that boot taste down there?
down where? i live on the surface of the earth, not sure if you mean theres a city underground or somthing. also i don’t like to taste boots, too earthy, more of a food person.
Got to smaller shows at local clubs
This is the way. I’ve seen so many great bands at clubs before they blew up. Why spend hundreds of dollars to see a show produced for mass consumption at a stadium when you can drop $20 and see a hungry up-and-comer pour out their heart and soul to a hundred people. It’s a way better experience.
You must live in very artistically rich city ! Im glad for you. Sadly around here its washed up metal (with lots of fake backing tracks) and rapping to a backing track, mixed in with bad country covers.
Yeah, San Diego, but I’ve lived in other cities with decent music scenes as well. Most major cities I’ve lived in have had a decent music scene.
Ah, thats 7 times bigger than my city haha. No wonder you have great opportunities!
Also bands that aren’t so famous any more are great to catch at smaller venues.
Oh i do. But the music around here mostly sucks, and the sound guys are lazy and terrible. Im one of the best sound guys here that actually tries, and I hardly ever do it as a side gig (way too many projects). I actually just studied sound (and the blade) and know how it works, unlike many (small time) sound guys today. And before you ask, I dont do it for a job because I already have a very good job. I have thought about offering classes on the subject locally.
People want to see pro bands with an actual good audio setup and talent. Sadly, youre not getting that at a local level unless you live in a metropolis or somewhere where the local water creates amazing talent from nothing.
Basically, through mergers and acquisitions they’re dominating the venue market. It used to be that there were many actors, but now everything is everything under the Ticketmaster umbrella.
It’s convenient for artists, as they only have one point if contact needed per location in terms of booking, ticket sales, merch, and everything else around the concert/event.
It’s convenient for venues, as Ticketmaster brings in business. However, it’s a double edged sword: Do something Ticketmaster doesn’t approve of, such as use a competitor, and you’re not getting the big headliners.
It’s awful for the rest of us, as we then have to deal with a monopoly pushing up the prices.
I am cautiously optimistic about the long term outlook, though: The Ticketmaster hate is widespread to the point where some artists refuse to work with them, as they feel their fans are getting robbed with the band getting the blame. And they are the ones with the leverage to turn things around - artists with integrity will put their fans first, and that is what will hopefully bring long term change for the better.
So basically, they’re the mob.
Unregulated capitalism. Specifically, unenforced monopoly laws, which the U.S. has been terrible at.
Deregulation and regulatory capture
🎶 The answer is always capitalism 🎵
There are laws and they’re probably in violation of them, but if you expect Trump’s DOJ to go after monopolies, you’ll die waiting.
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Very true. Too bad there’s no other way.
Especially for kids who really like any older music, those bands will not be around long (many bands on the sick new world fest for an example are 35+ years old). So yeah I guess whole generations just have to miss out on that music they love.
They are extremely litigious. I work in software security and they are notorious for basically having an ocean of lawyers.
Was my dream to catch Rush on this tour. 1000 cad per ticket. I can go to a European metal festival for the same price and see 120 bands.
Blame the artists too. Neil young capped tickets this year’s tour at 120 with no ability to resell.
Blame the artists too
This. They’re the ones that set ticket prices, and they get the majority of the revenue from ticket sales. Ticketmaster/LN has even said themselves that they don’t make most of their money on tickets, the artists do, but they want to take the blame away from the artist to keep making sales.
Not that Ticketmaster isn’t an issue. Vendor lock-in especially for independently owned venues has been a problem for a long time.
Republicans
