Live Nation & Ticketmaster: Monopoly Power, Competition, and the Live Music Industry

Research Question

How much competition remains when one company has influence over multiple stages of the live-event industry?

Research Overview

This presentation examines how the 2010 merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster created a vertically integrated company spanning concert promotion, venue operations, and primary ticketing. Drawing on the U.S. Department of Justice's 2024 antitrust lawsuit, it looks at Ticketmaster's dominant share of major-concert ticketing, the barriers facing smaller competitors, the effects on consumers through fees and limited alternatives, and why challenging a vertically integrated firm is difficult under existing antitrust tools.

RESEARCH PRESENTATION

Full screen