How Ticketmaster's owner has grip on UK live music scene

Oasis whitethorn ne'er person anticipated that the scramble of hundreds of thousands to get their hands connected tickets for their long-awaited comeback gigs would drawback the attraction of the British government.

The triggering of “dynamic pricing”, wherever prices of tickets were accrued by much than £200 arsenic request soared, caused eruptions of choler among fans. And Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said this week she wanted to guarantee tickets were sold “at just prices”.

Oasis said connected Wednesday that the set did not cognize dynamic pricing would beryllium utilized and had near pricing decisions up to promoters and management. The set announced further dates and said these would beryllium sold via an invitation-only ballot.

Ticketmaster, which says it is the world’s biggest amusement ticketing level and is 1 of 3 authoritative sellers for the Oasis shows, said it did not acceptable summons pricing argumentation - artists and promoters did.

But the part is not arsenic wide arsenic Ticketmaster makes it sound. There are 3 promoters for the Oasis reunion tour, each with links to 1 company: Live Nation, the US multinational which owns Ticketmaster.

The promoters are Manchester-based SJM Concerts, MCD Promotions and DF Concerts.

SJM is astir wholly owned by Simon Moran and is 1 of the largest performance promoters successful the UK. It besides runs gigsandtours.com, 1 of the different authoritative summons sellers for the Oasis tour. (The 3rd is See Tickets, which is owned by the German institution CTS Eventim.)

SJM besides has a associated task with a subsidiary of Live Nation. And Mr Moran oregon SJM are listed arsenic shareholders oregon directors of much than 10 subsidiaries of Live Nation.

They see 1 of the different Oasis gig promoters, DF Concerts - according to documents filed astatine Companies House, Mr Moran is simply a manager and owns 20% of the shares.

The remainder of the shares successful DF Concerts are owned by… a Live Nation subsidiary.

Meanwhile, MCD Productions merged with the aforesaid Live Nation subsidiary successful 2019, a determination which was investigated by the UK's competitions regulator, but which was allowed to spell up due to the fact that it did not "raise contention concerns”.

Live Nation's interests bash not halt astatine promoters. It is progressive successful astir each facet of the UK unrecorded euphony industry.

If, erstwhile you get to a gig, you caput to the merch stall for a memento of a large nighttime retired - yes, you guessed it, Live Nation has interests successful a fig of merchandise companies too, including De-Lux Merchandising which makes authoritative T-shirts, posters, books, hats and different merchandise that fans drawback up.

Keeping you harmless astatine that Oasis gig volition beryllium stewards and security. One of the biggest successful the UK is Showsec - and yes, it is listed arsenic a Live Nation subsidiary.

Live Nation besides has interests successful respective venues. It owns and operates Cardiff Arena.

It besides has a involvement successful the Academy Music Group, which has venues astir the UK specified arsenic the O2 Academy Brixton, O2 Shepherds Bush Empire and the O2 Academy Glasgow. Simon Moran has a involvement successful the Academy Music Group too.

And Live Nation has a strand of its concern called Artist Nation which “offers planetary touring deals and festival performances, arsenic good arsenic creator management”. Oasis are managed by Ignition Management, however, an autarkic company.

The conglomerate owns a fig of unrecorded euphony booking agencies arsenic well, specified arsenic International Talent Booking Limited, which has represented artists specified arsenic Pearl Jam and Biffy Clyro.

The festival play has conscionable ended successful the UK, and you would beryllium close to deliberation that Live Nation owns a batch of those too, specified arsenic Creamfields Festival, Manchester’s Parklife and The Great Escape. Boomtown successful Hampshire was 1 of the biggest autarkic UK festivals - until 2022, erstwhile Live Nation and SJM bought a number stake.

Live Nation besides owns promoters specified arsenic Festival Republic, which is the UK’s starring festival promoter liable for Reading and Leeds, Wireless and Latitude festivals among others.

So is it bully for consumers for 1 institution to beryllium progressive successful truthful galore aspects of the UK's unrecorded music?

The Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA), whose relation is to beforehand competitory markets and support radical from unfair trading practices, confirmed it is “urgently reviewing caller developments successful the ticketing market”.

“Consumer extortion instrumentality requires businesses to beryllium just and transparent successful their dealings with consumers, and businesses indispensable springiness wide and close accusation astir the terms radical person to pay. Failure to bash truthful whitethorn breach the law," a spokesperson said.

One crushed companies whitethorn consciousness capable to complaint high, seemingly unfair, prices tin beryllium that they power a ample stock of the market. This tin pb to the CMA besides taking an involvement nether contention instrumentality rules - which accidental that if a institution has a alleged ascendant position, it indispensable not maltreatment that successful a mode that harms consumers.

The CMA broadly says a institution whitethorn beryllium considered arsenic having "dominant position" if it has a persistent marketplace stock of 40% oregon more.

At the clip of Ticketmaster's merger with Live Nation successful 2010, the regulator estimated it had 40% to 50% of the UK marketplace and Live Nation's UK and Ireland president said this twelvemonth that it is selling much tickets than ever.

Anneli Howard KC, contention and user barrister from Monckton Chambers, says deficiency of transparency, excessive prices oregon unfair selling conditions could effect successful ineligible enactment oregon regulatory investigations for "abuse of dominance" for specified companies.

“There’s a heightened absorption connected breaches of user instrumentality oregon excessive pricing which we are progressively seeing astatine the centre of damages actions successful the English Courts - nether contention instrumentality for maltreatment of dominance oregon nether user instrumentality provisions," she says.

The BBC has asked Live Nation, SJM and Ticketmaster for remark but they person not responded.

Live Nation has already travel nether scrutiny successful the US aft Taylor Swift announced the Eras Tour successful November 2022 and Ticketmaster's website went into meltdown.

A Senate Judiciary Committee proceeding was convened and for much than 3 hours Live Nation executives were grilled.

Last month, successful an amended filing, 39 US states joined a suit seeking monetary damages against Live Nation Entertainment and Ticketmaster implicit claims they person monopolised the amusement industry.

The US Justice Department is besides seeking to interruption up Live Nation, alleging it and performance promoters illegally inflated summons prices and wounded artists.

In 2023, Ticketmaster says it scanned much than 4 cardinal fans into events crossed the UK and Ireland, which they called a “historic high”.