UPDATED, with Live Nation response: A Senate subcommittee has subpoenaed Live Nation/Ticketmaster and requested documents as part of an investigation into high ticket prices for Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen and other concerts.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, wrote to Live Nation Entertainment CEO Michael Rapino earlier this month that the company had “failed to comply with their demands” since the investigation began in March has.
Read the letter to Rapino.
The investigation will examine ticket prices, fees and resale practices, among other things. The subcommittee is also seeking information about Live Nation/Ticketmaster’s “failure to address artificially inflated demand fueled by bots in several high-profile incidents,” Blumenthal wrote in his letter.
In a statement, Blumenthal said, “This subpoena requires the company to promptly comply with our request for documents essential to understanding its business practices.” American consumers deserve fair ticket prices, without hidden or predatory fees. And the American public deserves to know how Ticketmaster’s unfair practices are enabled by the abuse of monopolistic power.”
A spokesperson for Live Nation said the company has “voluntarily worked with the subcommittee since its inception, and we have already provided more than 10,000 documents and held several meetings with staff.” To provide the requested additional information on artist and client compensation, as well as to provide other similarly sensitive matters, we have requested standard confidentiality measures. To date, the Subcommittee has declined to provide such assurances, but if and when these measures are in place, we will provide additional information on these issues. The company’s Dan Wall also published a blog post.
Live Nation has been under increased scrutiny since last year when Ticketmaster’s website crashed due to an overload of demand for Swift concert tickets. Joe Berchtold, president and chief financial officer, was criticized by lawmakers from both parties during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in January. But Berchtold said the artist determines the price of the ticket and in most cases the venue determines the price.
The subpoena also requests annual financial information related to fees, company ticket price recommendations, business strategies related to ticket prices, secondary ticket sales, notifications related to high-profile incidents in 2022, and customer research and surveys related to ticket prices and fees. a spokesman Blumenthal.
Source: Deadline
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
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