Don't Gloat About Your Moat
A common turn of phrase helped prosecutors win an antitrust ruling against Live Nation. Could its concert monopoly finally be over?
“And so castles made of sand; Fall in the sea eventually.” – Jimi Hendrix
Live Nation Entertainment and its Ticketmaster subsidiary run an illegal monopoly, a jury ruled on Wednesday, validating what almost every price-gouged concertgoer already knows.
Music fans have not been Live Nation fans since it acquired Ticketmaster in 2010 – when it began leveraging its control over venues, tickets and artist promotion to quash competition and soak customers.
Many will never forget how it botched the 2022 Taylor Swift Eras Tour that the top-selling performer described as putting her fans through “bear attacks.” Some have even taken to wearing “Ticketbastard” T-shirts. Country singer-songwriter Zach Bryan cut an album titled, “All my homies hate Ticketmaster.”
Read More: Ticketbastard (Business Blunders)
When you’ve lost the fans, you should try to be more measured in what you say, but that’s not how Live Nation rolls.
“Live Nation is a business model that has an incredible moat around the castle,” LiveNation CEO Michael Rapino boasted in a 2019 deposition.
To be fair, the moat is a business concept first championed by Warren Buffett. It describes a barrier to entry that potential competitors can’t easily cross. But in the context of a monopoly that has put the squeeze on a wide swath of America, it’s probably not the best word choice.
“What type of company uses this language?” said Jeffrey Kessler, a lawyer representing 33 states and Washington, D.C. in their antitrust lawsuit. “A monopolist who believes itself above the law.”
You can’t argue, as Live Nation tried, that you’re not an illegal monopoly because you have competitors, then turn around and brag about an “incredible moat” that keeps them all at bay.
Text exchanges presented during the trial didn’t help, either. They showed a couple Live Nation executives expressing contempt for their customers:
“These people are so stupid.”
“I almost feel bad taking advantage of them.”
“Robbing them blind, baby That’s how we do.”
The messages hinted at a culture of shameless arrogance and heartless price-gouging, which is how monopolists behave.
“I have no sympathy for people whining about high ticket prices,” Fred Rosen, the former chief executive of Ticketmaster told the Los Angeles Times in 2023. “They helped create this situation where artists have to make all their money on tour. Artists and the market set the prices, and you can’t pay a Motel 6 price and stay at the Four Seasons.”
Yeah, that’s that ticket. Blame the customers. Blame the artists. Blame the market.
The jury didn’t buy it.
It’s now up to a judge to determine whether to break up Live Nation and Ticketmaster, force the behemoth to divest venues, or just sack it with fines and a few little regularly slaps on the wrist.
The court should lease an arena and announce the ruling from a live stage. Plenty of Live Nation customers would pay anything for a front row seat.
