An Upcoming Investigation Into Ticketmaster And Live Nation Could Affect K-Pop Concert Ticket Sales

One of the worst aspects of ticketing is scalpers.
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Kesha Bright
Kesha Bright

Ticketing for concerts has always been extremely stressful, somewhat in part because of Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation, and K-Pop shows have not been an exception. However, following major failures from Ticketmaster during the sale of American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift‘s upcoming tour, the Justice Department of the United States has opened an investigation that may affect the way fans buy concert tickets forever.

Ticketmaster and Live Nation Logos | Live Nation Entertainment

Ticketmaster has often been considered the enemy of all hopeful concert attendees. In the past, K-Pop fans have directly had issues with the ticketing giant, especially dealing with BTS‘s PERMISSION TO DANCE ON STAGE concerts.

Of the issues, the most prevalent was the number of scalpers that were able to purchase tickets for the event and resell tickets for massive prices.

The lowest-priced tickets for PERMISSION TO DANCE ON STAGE were originally sold for $60. | Ticketmaster

Fans were able to find Ticketmaster’s Terms And Conditions for purchasing tickets and discovered that not only were they not enforcing their own rules, but they were also profiting from scalpers reselling tickets. These tickets sold that went against the terms included high fees paid to Ticketmaster for reselling.

Ticketmaster and Live Nation have been able to do almost anything regarding ticket sales because of the monopoly control they have over both venues and any artists that would like to perform live.

According to The New York Times, when Ticketmaster and Live Nation merged in 2010, it was requested that Live Nation sell some parts of its business. The Justice Department also forbade Live Nation from threatening concert venues with losing access to tours for using other ticketing providers. This agreement was supposed to last until 2020, but in 2019 it was found that Live Nation did not follow the boundaries set, and the agreement was extended until 2025.

| The American Bar Association

If Live Nation is found to be in violation of these terms yet again, action could be taken to break up some of the hold the company has over the live music industry and in turn directly affect concert ticket sales. For one, Ticketmaster no longer being the primary ticket outlet could lead to many of the extra fees and charges on concert tickets disappearing, something US President Biden has promised to work towards.

Next, this would likely trigger an investigation into ticket resellers who have connections to Ticketmaster and address rumors of special and/or access for scalpers who seem to have tickets before the event has even gone on sale. In addition, the usage of bots for ticketing would likely be monitored much more.

Finally, this would allow artists and venues much more freedom in touring schedules and ticket pricing without the ticketing source fueling certain options. Rock band Pearl Jam has spoken out for nearly three decades about Ticketmaster’s control over the industry following a difficult 14-month boycott in 1995.

With this investigation, hopefully, some of the major issues with ticketing will be solved and all concert-goers, including K-Pop fans, will be able to enjoy shows without paying astronomical amounts for tickets, as well as giving control back to the musicians.

Source: The New York Times
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