Earlier this week tickets for Taylor Swift's tour went on sale. Maybe at this point you're thinking, "What does that have to do with me?" Stay tuned, dear reader! The fact that fans couldn't buy tickets and that the sale had to stop while secondary markets were price-gouging is a direct result of Ticketmaster's unchecked, concentrated monopoly power—and that's why we need government action to help consumers and artists. 

Due to the merger between Live Nation and Ticketmaster in 2010—one that experts say should've never happened because it gives Ticketmaster such a stranglehold on the market—one company now controls about 70% of the ticketing and live venue market.1 The move impacts every corner of the music ecosystem, cuts deeply into artists' earnings, drives up exorbitant fees for consumers, and negatively impacts how much venues take in.2 Ever since then, tickets have been steadily rising in cost, coupled with fees and a flawed user experience that leaves working people less likely to want to partake in the experience again.3 At a time when technology in general is getting better and cheaper, these bad experiences and high costs are the result of Ticketmaster's monopolistic power. 

Ticketmaster is an unchecked monopoly that benefits from being one of the only reliable companies that people can go to online to purchase tickets for concerts and shows across the country. Without fair competition, they can abuse artists, venues, and consumers. They're concerned only about their bottom line, and without intervention, Ticketmaster will continue to thrive in a system that cuts out and disenfranchises people who just want to see their favorite band, artist, or musical live.

Activists, organizers, and artists have been calling for the breakup of Ticketmaster for years. Tell the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate and break up Ticketmaster.

Sign the petition!

The only winners in this situation are Ticketmaster and corporations. Consumers have seen the worst from the site in the past few days: excessive wait times and expensive, unreasonable, and unjustified fees that Ticketmaster would quite frankly never charge if there were other companies to keep them in check. And it will only get worse if they're not investigated now.

Monopolies cause chaos for us and for the economy.4 But it does not have to be this way. It's time to break up Ticketmaster, but the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission will take action only if they know how Ticketmaster has failed people across the country. Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Sources: 

1. "Can The Power Of Taylor Swift—And Her Fanbase—Finally Topple Ticketmaster’s Monopoly," Forbes, November 17, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/169701?t=7&akid=338572%2E19210197%2EKe3d3S

2. "Bruce Springsteen 'Furious' At Ticketmaster, Rails Against Live Nation Merger," Rolling Stone, February 4, 2009. 
https://act.moveon.org/go/169702?t=9&akid=338572%2E19210197%2EKe3d3S

3. "How Concert Tickets Got So Expensive and Who All Those Fees Benefit," NBC Los Angeles, April 8, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/169703?t=11&akid=338572%2E19210197%2EKe3d3S

4. "Do Monopolies Actually Benefit Consumers," Chicago Booth Review, October 13, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/169704?t=13&akid=338572%2E19210197%2EKe3d3S