News

For Media Inquiries Contact Steve Maviglio: [email protected]

ICYMI: Ticketmaster CEO Roasted for Saying Concert Tickets are ‘Underpriced’

Live Nation/Ticketmaster CEO Michael Rapino is being relentlessly mocked for his comment that concert tickets on his company’s platform are “underpriced.”

Rapino, who has a reported net worth of nearly $1 billion, may think ticket prices are too low, but thousands of music lovers – including Jack Antonoff, music producer for the likes of Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Lorde, and Doja Cat – spoke up to disagree vociferously. This comes just weeks after the Federal Trade Commission sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster for engaging in illegal ticket resale practices that have cost consumers billions in inflated prices and fees.

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Live Nation Donated $500,000 to Trump Inauguration Committee

Live Nation Entertainment Inc. quietly became one of the largest corporate backers of Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration when it donated $500,000 to the president’s inaugural committee, according to recently filed fundraising reports. The contribution stands out not only for its size but also because it arrives as the company is embroiled in a landmark antitrust lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice seeking to break up its ticketing and live‑events empire.

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Ten states join lawsuit against Live Nation and seek triple damages

Attorneys general from about two dozen US states are going after three times the monetary damages originally sought against Live Nation Entertainment and its ticket-selling unit, Ticketmaster. In an updated version of a lawsuit first filed in May, the states allege the concert giant monopolized markets across its industry.

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Emboldening Ticketmaster’s Monopoly Hurts Latino Small Businesses

As an advocate for small businesses, I know how challenging it is to succeed in today’s economy. It’s even more challenging when entrepreneurs have to face competition that engages in unfair business practices. This is especially the case with Live Nation/Ticketmaster, a monopoly that dominates the live event ticketing industry.

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How a Ticketmaster bill apparently went off the rails

There is a growing contention from Washington D.C. all the way to California that event ticket seller Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation are an illegal monopoly that lawmakers should rein in, and sooner than later. There are multiple attempts to do just that in the California Legislature, but while this seems like an issue perfectly teed up for supermajority Democrats, pending legislation has instead devolved into finger pointing and recriminations that leave those potential reforms in limbo.

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DOJ and states sue Live Nation, could seek breakup of company

The Justice Department and dozens of states and the District of Columbia sued to break up Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation on Thursday alleging that they have illegally monopolized the live music industry harming fans, artists and venues, through a mix of exclusive contracts, self-preferencing, retaliation and acquisitions.

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Attorney General Bonta Files Lawsuit Against Live Nation, Ticketmaster

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today, alongside the U.S. Department of Justice (U.S. DOJ), and a bipartisan coalition of 30 attorneys general, filed a lawsuit against Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster, alleging unlawful conduct that has hampered competition in the ticketing and promotions of live music concerts. Live Nation’s strong domination over ticketing and promotions markets has allowed it to engage in a wide variety of anticompetitive behaviors.

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The Tortured Ticketers Department

Assemblymember Buffy Wicks had set out earlier this year to end exclusive relationships between venues and the companies that sell their tickets — hoping that more ticketers would mean more competition and better deals for the fans.

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Jumping Ship

Several backers of Assemblymember Buffy Wicks’ bill to end exclusive control over ticket sales are threatening to pull their support if she accepts a major amendment proposed by the Assembly’s Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection today.

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End the Ticket-Selling Monopoly in California

As president of the California Black Chamber, I have the privilege of advocating for small businesses throughout the state. However, music is my passion and has been my life’s work. For more than four decades, I have worked in the music industry as an artist, as a promoter, and a manager.  I have witnessed firsthand the evolution of our industry – the good, the bad, and the ugly.

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Opinion: End the Ticket-Selling Monopoly in California

As president of the California Black Chamber, I have the privilege of advocating for small businesses throughout the state. However, music is my passion and has been my life’s work. For more than four decades, I have worked in the music industry as an artist, as a promoter, and a manager.

Read More »

Digital Democracy ramps up accountability of California Legislature

For those in the Legislature’s Democratic supermajority, voting “yes” on a colleague’s bill may come easily. Voting “no,” however, isn’t as straightforward — and that may be why so few Democrats actually do so.The bill, AB 2808, was introduced by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks to make changes to the ways ticket sales are handled to promote more competition.

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KCRA Today: Bill targets Ticketmaster, Stockton shopping cart changes, school employee arrest

An Oakland assembly member is proposing a new law to tackle what she calls Ticketmaster’s monopoly over event ticket sales. The bill, AB 2808, was introduced by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks to make changes to the ways ticket sales are handled to promote more competition.
The bill, AB 2808, was introduced by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks to make changes to the ways ticket sales are handled to promote more competition.

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California bill takes aim at Ticketmaster ‘monopoly’

LOS ANGELES — California Democratic Assembly member, Buffy Wicks wants to propose a bill that would limit Ticketmaster’s control in the ticket industry.

AB 2808 says the company has a monopoly in the ticket space, allowing them to add high fees in addition to ticket prices.

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Taking on Ticketmaster

Assemblymember Buffy Wicks wants to end exclusive control by companies like Ticketmaster over the sale of concert and sporting tickets, setting up a battle between consumer groups and a powerful sector of the entertainment industry that is still reeling from the 2022 Taylor Swift ticketing fiasco.

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Ticketmaster DOJ Antitrust Probe Sees New Document Requests

The US Justice Department sent out a new raft of information requests in its antitrust probe of Live Nation Entertainment Inc.’s ticketing arm Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. amid concerns the company isn’t cooperating with the investigation, according to people familiar with the probe.

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Everyone Hates Ticketmaster

Nothing seems to unite people more than their hate for TicketMaster. At a recent Senate Judiciary committee hearing convened in response to the ticket selling debacle around Taylor Swift’s latest stadium tour, Republicans and Democrats alike castigated the company for its practices.

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The problem with Ticketmaster, explained not by Taylor Swift

I imagine if you are here to read about Ticketmaster it is, at least in part, because of Taylor Swift. If you somehow are not caught up, let me TL;DR you: Back in November, the rush to buy tickets for Swift’s upcoming tour following the release of her album Midnights caused Ticketmaster’s platform to have a bit of a meltdown.

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Ticketmaster Is Being Sued for Allegedly Encouraging Scalpers

Ticketmaster has been hit with a class-action suit alleging that the site is actively encouraging ticket scalping. The suit follows an investigation by the CBC in which a representative of Ticketmaster was captured on a hidden camera saying that the use of ticket-buying bots that snap up tickets so they can be resold at a higher cost is “not something we look at or report.”

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Live Nation Rules Music Ticketing, Some Say With Threats

Federal officials tried to reassure the skeptics. They pointed to a consent decree, or legal settlement, they had negotiated as part of the merger approval. Its terms were strict, they said: It would boost competition and block monopolistic behavior by the new, larger Live Nation.

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ICYMI: Ticketmaster CEO Roasted for Saying Concert Tickets are ‘Underpriced’

Live Nation/Ticketmaster CEO Michael Rapino is being relentlessly mocked for his comment that concert tickets on his company’s platform are “underpriced.”

Rapino, who has a reported net worth of nearly $1 billion, may think ticket prices are too low, but thousands of music lovers – including Jack Antonoff, music producer for the likes of Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Lorde, and Doja Cat – spoke up to disagree vociferously. This comes just weeks after the Federal Trade Commission sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster for engaging in illegal ticket resale practices that have cost consumers billions in inflated prices and fees.

Read More »

Attorney General Bonta Files Lawsuit Against Live Nation, Ticketmaster

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today, alongside the U.S. Department of Justice (U.S. DOJ), and a bipartisan coalition of 30 attorneys general, filed a lawsuit against Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster, alleging unlawful conduct that has hampered competition in the ticketing and promotions of live music concerts. Live Nation’s strong domination over ticketing and promotions markets has allowed it to engage in a wide variety of anticompetitive behaviors.

Read More »

Live Nation Donated $500,000 to Trump Inauguration Committee

Live Nation Entertainment Inc. quietly became one of the largest corporate backers of Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration when it donated $500,000 to the president’s inaugural committee, according to recently filed fundraising reports. The contribution stands out not only for its size but also because it arrives as the company is embroiled in a landmark antitrust lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice seeking to break up its ticketing and live‑events empire.

Read More »

Ten states join lawsuit against Live Nation and seek triple damages

Attorneys general from about two dozen US states are going after three times the monetary damages originally sought against Live Nation Entertainment and its ticket-selling unit, Ticketmaster. In an updated version of a lawsuit first filed in May, the states allege the concert giant monopolized markets across its industry.

Read More »

For Media Inquiries Contact Steve Maviglio: [email protected]