Arkansas Attorney General Joins Ticketmaster Antitrust Lawsuit

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin is joining a nationwide antitrust lawsuit against the ticketing company.

Griffin is working with 29 other attorneys general to sue Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation. A statement from his office said “concert-goers, artists and venue staff are at the mercy of these companies.”

The lawsuit alleges that the company employs business practices that crush competition and ultimately lead to a monopoly, although Live Nation and Ticketmaster dispute this.

“It is often said that music requires little more than ‘three chords and the truth,'” the suit says. “In our modern economy, the live music industry demands this and competition.”

The lawsuit says Ticketmaster controls more than 200 concert venues in North America through Live Nation, including some of the top amphitheaters in the United States. The lawsuit says the company generates revenue of more than $22 billion in one year. In court documents, they have a diagram describing how the company finances itself.

The lawsuit lists several examples of what it calls “anti-competitive” behavior. This includes taking over smaller ticketing companies, preventing venues from contracting with other ticketing companies, and preventing artists from using companies other than Ticketmaster.

The company says it has competition. In a statement, Ticketmaster said: “Each year, industry competition forces Live Nation to obtain lower rates from both concert promotions and ticket sales.”

The lawsuit points out that Ticketmaster has “70% of the large amphitheater promotions market share” and that no other company is as close to Ticketmaster’s power.

He also argues that the company is free to overcharge fans because it has no other competition in the industry. Often, when purchasing tickets, the company adds fees with titles such as “service”, “VIP” or “handling fees”.

“Regardless of the name of the fee,” the lawsuit says. “And regardless of how fees are packaged and collected, they are essentially a ‘ticket tax’ that ultimately raises the price fans pay.”

Ticketmaster says: “The Department of Justice lawsuit blames concert promoters and ticketing companies – neither of which controls ticket prices – for high ticket prices.”

The lawsuit was filed in the Southern District of New York and seeks a jury trial and financial penalties. This is because the Department of Justice is also suing both companies for similar reasons.