Will US v. Live Nation End Venues’ Exclusive Ticketing Deals?

Photo Credit: Claudio Schwarz

Will the DOJ’s Live Nation antitrust lawsuit usher in the end of exclusive ticketing deals with venues? Time will tell, but CFO Joe Berchtold discussed the possibility during a recent investor conference.

Berchtold specifically addressed the topic and the overarching suit during the BoA Securities Media, Communications and Entertainment Conference earlier this week. And the comments are particularly noteworthy given the absence of key developments in the core case as of late.

Of course, said case is in full swing ahead of a scheduled March 2nd trial kickoff. But in short, August and early September only delivered a few minor representation changes, a bit of discovery progress (referring in part to non-party SeatGeek’s production of messages), and a motion to intervene from a patent-focused company, the docket shows.

Back to Berchtold’s remarks, then, the Live Nation president and CFO framed his company’s exclusive ticketing deals as a byproduct of venues’ efforts “to monetize their rights” – not a scheme to box out rivals.

(Leveraging Live Nation’s reach as a promoter – allegedly threatening to divert major tours elsewhere, that is – “Ticketmaster locks concert venues into long-term exclusive contracts so that venues cannot consider or choose rival ticketers or switch to better, more, or cost-effective ticketing technology,” according to the amended suit.)

“So the question isn’t, ‘Are we doing anything bad by forcing exclusivity?’ Because we’re not forcing it, we’re not demanding it – that’s what they’re auctioning off. So if they’re told that they can’t auction off exclusivity, then fine, we’ll adjust,” Berchtold said during the conference, per TicketNews.

Certain Live Nation clients, though not contractually obligated to exclusivity, opt to “put all their tickets through our platform because it’s the best platform to sell tickets,” the exec proceeded to claim.

As mentioned, it remains to be seen how the high-stakes antitrust action will affect ticketing exclusives and different facets of Live Nation/Ticketmaster operations. Closer to the present, Berchtold also commented on broader government-led pushes for improved ticketing transparency.

Stateside, that refers largely to a late-March executive order targeting “unscrupulous middlemen” in the secondary ticketing space. (The order also set in motion a public inquiry into “unfair and anticompetitive” ticketing practices.)

“[T]he more transparency, the better for the industry,” Berchtold added. “We’ve tried to play our part in terms of creating more transparency. We led with all-in pricing well before it became regulated; we’ve supported a lot of other reforms.”

Two closing notes on this front: It’s hard to put a positive spin on ticketing fees, but some evidence suggests that all-in pricing actually benefits well-entrenched players. Additionally, July reportedly saw Live Nation – which is building 18 new venues in the States – pitch the Trump administration on secondary-ticketing price controls.