Staff Reports
Concerts are a blast—there’s nothing quite like the buzz of live music filling the air and the joy of sharing the experience with fans. However, the cost of attending these musical festivities has been on a meteoric rise over the last decade, nearly doubling in price! Yet, while plenty of venues struggle to balance budgets, one giant appears to be riding high on the concert wave: Live Nation Entertainment. This company, best known for its ownership of Ticketmaster, raked in a staggering $23 billion in 2024, seemingly mastering the art of live entertainment.
How did it do it? Live Nation has perfected what they call a “flywheel” business model. This strategy sees every component of their operations—ticketing, promoting, venues, and even artist management—as interconnected gears driving the whole machine forward. It’s almost as if they are a well-oiled concert-making factory! Everyone from the artist to the promoter, from the venue to the ticketing platform becomes an essential part of this mechanism. However, as Live Nation prints money, questions arise about whether they have too much control over the industry. The U.S. government, in particular, is raising eyebrows, suggesting that Live Nation’s dominance might be edging toward monopolization.
Back in 2010, Live Nation paired up with Ticketmaster, creating this powerhouse of concert promotion. Initially, many were unsettled by the merger, concerned about the control one company could have over so many aspects of the live events world. Fast forward to today, and Live Nation is now finger-deep in nearly every major business related to live events. Critics argue that their ability to utilize profits from their ticketing operations to subsidize live events creates an unfair playing field for independent venues and smaller promoters.
So, how does this impact the independent music scene? For many venues, attracting a crowd can feel like a game of chance. A small venue might see profits from 90 people, each spending around ten pounds, just to break even. However, it can be daunting for these smaller players when competing against Live Nation’s expansive network of about 390 venues worldwide and its powerful brand deals that smaller entities could only dream of. While some independent venues do work with Live Nation to secure rising acts, the fear remains that as Live Nation gets bigger, smaller operations may be left in the dust.
Amid all these discussions about power and profit margins, fans are still the focus. Live Nation claims to prioritize the experience of concert-goers while balancing the books. Secondary ticket sales have been a huge point of contention, with scalpers driving prices through the roof and audiences caught in the middle. The average ticket prices are sending wallets reeling, and while artists might earn more, fans feel the pressure every time they want to see their favorite bands live.
Could this all lead to trouble for Live Nation? The company is currently facing scrutiny from the Department of Justice due to its expansive control over ticketing and promotion. While they argue that they are competing daily to attract artists and venues, the looming antitrust lawsuit raises questions about the long-term implications of a business model that seems to spell profit for the few at the potential cost of the many. As with all things in the entertainment world—and life in general—there’s a balance to be struck. Hopefully, that balance doesn’t tip too far in one direction, leaving music lovers scratching their heads, wallets empty, and independent venues out of the game.
