Pryor Cashman Partner James G. Sammataro, co-chair of the firm's Music Group and Media + Entertainment Litigation Practice, spoke with the Los Angeles Times and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (ACJ) about the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment to revitalize market competition.
In "Would breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster actually lower concert ticket prices?" for the Times, James comments on how the monopolization of Live Nation has impacted the market:
"The overall effect is that it leads to a very tilted playing field where it's difficult for promoters to compete," Sammataro said. "And when you have a lack of competition, essentially like the basis of predatory pricing, ultimately there's going to be long term gouging."
He also notes that this lawsuit can address additional issues related to the ticketing market, such as excessive fees:
"What's really harming the consumer is all these excess fees and the restrictions on getting the tickets," Sammataro said. "For most artists, these 'increased prices' aren't really benefiting the artists. In many cases, it's alienating their core ticket buyers and their core audience."
In "Live Nation, which runs several Atlanta venues, sued in antitrust case," ACJ includes James's view on the case being inevitable:
"We've got this real public sentiment and a lot of chatter," he said. "It was just kind of a matter of time before there was going to be some restrictions."
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Resources
- [Los Angeles Times] Would breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster actually lower concert ticket prices?
- [Atlanta Journal-Constitution] Live Nation, which runs several Atlanta venues, sued in antitrust case
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