Live Nation Targeted in Explosive Investigation Alleging Market Manipulation

Entertainment giant Live Nation is the target of an explosive investigation by ABC’s Four Corners, which aims to shed light on the company’s alleged market manipulation and impact on Australia’s music scene.

The investigation, “Four Corners: Music For Sale,” will air on Monday, October 14 at 8:30 p.m. on ABC TV. The report follows an investigation by reporter Avani Dias, who has been speaking to industry insiders and musicians regarding Live Nation’s domination.

The once-vibrant Australia underground music scene has been overtaken; over 1,300 venues shut down and major festivals were either bought out or cancelled this year. Meanwhile, Live Nation is “squeezing out local competitors by acquiring smaller independent operators,” Four Corners claims.

Large-name events like Splendour in the Grass and Groovin the Moo festivals have been called-off in 2024. Bluesfest, which normally brings-in close to 100,000 attendees, had 60,000 fans attend the festival this year. Bluesfest director Peter Noble spoke out at a Variety Live Business Breakfast in Sydney, noting that the music festival climate is an “extinction event.”

| READ: Portland Approves Controversial Plan to Bring Live Nation Venue to City | 

“A Four Corners investigation reveals how the corporation — and its ticketing arm Ticketmaster — are maximising profits at the expense of both consumers and artists,” the national broadcaster said in a press release.

The episode is set to feature an interview with Aussie Peter Garrett, frontman of Midnight Oil and former politician, who claims Live Nation “misuse their market power.”

“I don’t think Live Nation cares at all about Australian artists and they are basically calling the shots,” Garrett said.

See the trailer for the investigation below:

Live Nation responded to the forthcoming investigation in a lengthy statement to The Music Network, calling the episode “inaccurate and unbalanced.”

Read the statement below:

Four Corners on ABC Television has published a promotional video for its upcoming episode this Monday, in what we are expecting is an inaccurate and unbalanced story about Live Nation.

Despite our best efforts to engage with Four Corners and present them with facts about the live entertainment industry, the promotional video contains a range of falsehoods and unsubstantiated allegations.

To understand the Four Corners agenda, it’s important that you know we provided Four Corners written responses to all of their questions at 5pm on Wednesday 9 October, and three hours later Four Corners posted the promotional video for the program on YouTube. The program was obviously fully formed without any input from Live Nation.

On the basis of the promotional video, it’s clear that the program contains inaccuracies, including:

Comments from a member of the band Bad//Dreems complaining about their gross from a recent tour and blaming Live Nation for this

That tour was promoted by a company called Love Police which is a competitor to Live Nation.

Comments about inappropriate use of market power by Live Nation in Australia

Australia’s live entertainment industry is highly competitive evident by the fact that Live Nation is one of many promoters with TEG and Frontier among the top, while Ticketek is the largest ticketing agent in the country, and Live Nation operates less than 1% of music venues in the country (6 out of the approximately 2,700 venues). The economics of our business follow the same industry models as these other players. We are proud our Live Nation Australia team is operated by local Australians who live and work here to bring in some of the world’s biggest acts to local fans while championing Australian talent and fuelling growth in the live music sector. Our investments in artists, venues, event organizers, and entrepreneurs have enriched Australia’s cultural landscape and created thousands of jobs. Last year, we promoted over 100 Australian emerging and established artists, and we’ve successfully advocated for local Australian opening acts in 85% of the international acts we promote here.

Comments on control and closure of venues

There are approximately 2,700 live music venues in Australia. Live Nation operates just six — one in New South Wales, two in Victoria, two in Queensland and one in South Australia – that’s 0.22% of the market. Breaking that down by states, in New South Wales, with about 795 venues, Live Nation makes up 0.126% of the market. While Music Victoria’s 2022 census reports approximately 1,000 live music venues in Victoria, where Live Nation makes up 0.2% of the market.

Comments on negative impacts on Australian developing artists

Since 2016, Live Nation has promoted over 900 shows for developing artists in venues less than 1,500 pax capacity – reaching more than 556,000 fans. And we’ve successfully advocated for local Australian opening acts in 85% of the international acts we promote here. Our business thrives on nurturing the next generation of talent, and we offer programs like Ones to Watch to foster emerging artists. We recognize the vital role grassroots music venues play in discovering new talent and applaud efforts to support these spaces. As dedicated operators in this space, we’re eager to discuss measures that strengthen the Australian music industry and ensure artists have the opportunity to grow and succeed.

Comments on ticket pricing 

Ticketmaster does not set prices, nor do we have or offer algorithmic surge pricing technologies. Ticketing companies do not control how artist teams and other event organizers price their shows or whether they adjust prices up or down based on demand. However, like other ticketing companies, we have tools to help artist teams understand demand for their tickets. It is the artist teams who decide which tools to use and how to best balance revenue goals with fan access. Artists are increasingly reliant on live music for their livelihood and to support their crew and rising production costs. It’s costly for most international artists to add Australia/New Zealand to their tour, and those costs have dramatically increased after Covid. Ticket prices need to compensate touring artists and ensure that Australia continues to attract many of the world’s most popular artists.

Comments on music festivals

Live Nation is committed to producing best-in-class festivals across Australia and has strategically postponed events to ensure premium fan experiences when conditions allow. Festivals play a crucial role in driving regional economic benefits, providing cultural value, while also supporting emerging acts with exposure to much larger audiences than would otherwise be possible for them. Our team is actively developing projects to ensure our festivals continue to benefit artists and the industry. While some festivals face challenges with rising costs, we’re confident those with strong locations, talent, and a unique identity will continue to thrive long term in a competitive live entertainment market.”

We will continue to work hard to inform and engage with all of our stakeholders as an industry leader committed to the long-term success of the Australian music industry. 

We won’t let this noise detract from doing what we do best which is servicing our artists/clients and fans.

Live Nation’s alleged monopolistic practices stem further than Australia; the entertainment giant is currently the subject of an antitrust lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Justice and 39 states, as well as the District of Columbia. The suit, which alleges anticompetitive behavior by Live Nation and Ticketmaster, aims to break-up the pair.