SusanDunbar18Jan 3, 2023
Robert Reich

Live Nation and Ticketmaster were allowed to merge in 2010. The result?

They now control 70% of the primary ticketing and live event venues market.

They exploit all of us — and we simply have to take it.

Big mergers are terrible for everyone but super-rich CEOs.

Jan 2, 2023 at 11:49pmWeb
Show threadMark DarbyshireJan 2, 2023
@rbreich Best to go for small events (support local artists!) and charitable ticketing platforms like #Humanitix: https://humanitix.com/
Humanitix - Tickets for good, not greed

Humanitix is the ticketing platform that takes the booking fees we all hate paying and dedicates the profits to charity. 100% of Humanitix's profits go to charities providing education, healthcare and life's basic necessities to humans across the world. Turn your next event into a force for good with Humanitix!

Show threadJeroenJan 2, 2023

@rbreich

Big mergers always have been and always will be terrible for everyone but the super-rich CEOs.

Not just the Live Nation and Ticketmaster merger, but pretty much any massive merger in history.

Show threadTraci LawJan 3, 2023
@Jeroen @rbreich And the politicians who financially benefit by allowing these monopolies. Follow the money.
Show threadcheffeJan 3, 2023
@tracilaw @Jeroen @rbreich correct. Keep the population dumb and unhealthy is good for business. Very sad.
Show threadShazbot VaxxedJan 2, 2023
@rbreich Why did the Democratic Obama administration allow that merger to go through?
Show threadMidRatSamJan 3, 2023
@equalitytime @rbreich at the time (12 years ago) the merger was intended to increase competition. Since then, mergers have occurred during both left and right administrations that created the Live Nation Entertainment/Ticket Master monopoly. In 2020 (under the Trump administration... wha?) a Saudi company purchased 5.7% of the entity, and is currently the largest stake holder.
Show threadBluePlanetRadioJan 3, 2023
@equalitytime @rbreich It started way before Obama. Check this well-reported history: https://prospect.org/power/ticketmasters-dark-history/#.Y7OXeQgqsgw.link
Ticketmaster’s Dark History

A 40-year saga of kickbacks, threats, political maneuvering, and the humiliation of Pearl Jam

The American Prospect
Show threadDeadmuleJan 3, 2023
@rbreich I stopped using TM online 5 years. I still see shows by showing up and finding an extra ticket.
Show threadSt. Paul Jan 3, 2023
@Deadmule @rbreich cash or trade!!!
Show threadDeadmuleJan 3, 2023

@pdkcooks sure, cash or trade is fine, but it's a short term solution to an untenable problem.

Need one with my finger in the air still works!

Show threadSt. Paul Jan 3, 2023

@Deadmule agreed, I hate dealing with TM and all the shows I’ve seen recently had plenty of folks selling at the show or on CoT.

Have you ever lucked out or had to pay crazy high prices day of? Just wondering in case I decide to go cold turkey from the Ticketmaster monopoly this summer.

Show threadDeadmuleJan 3, 2023
@pdkcooks
I stopped using TM around 2016. I'm blessed to see and be a part of live music constantly that I don't even think about online ticket stuff much
Show threadDeadmuleJan 3, 2023

@pdkcooks also, need one at Billy Strings show still works!

🙏

Show threadDeadmuleJan 3, 2023
@pdkcooks that's the thing, crazy prices disappear day of show, there is always an extra to find!
miracle's happen
Show threadMinnesnowtaJan 3, 2023
@rbreich It's the Murican way, corporate control of our lives. Yet politicians say we're the freest country in the world, even though we have the highest incarceration rate, and big corporations have monopolies.
Show threadTraci LawJan 3, 2023
@Minnesnowta @rbreich And monopolies mean corporations can keep paying a poverty wage. This is why we desperately need term limits for all federal positions.
Show threadCarolannieJan 3, 2023
@rbreich and then they have a SWA level of fubar which impacts millions of people
Show threadNorthernWolfieJan 3, 2023
@rbreich Our two biggest mobile/internet companies just got the go ahead to merge here in Canada.
I have a bad feeling about this...
Show threadRoz DerorsJan 3, 2023
@rbreich Are monopolies illegal???
Show threadUnionGuyPEIJan 3, 2023
@rbreich Monopolies are the norm now and it needs to change. #cdnpoli
Show threadBrendanCookJan 3, 2023
@rbreich one of the worst things that happened to live entertainment and ticket buyers! Especially since Ticketmaster also owns StubHub, where tickets are resold. TM sells the original ticket, gets a cut, then gets a cut of each resale. 😡
Show threadInsufficientC8H11NO2Jan 3, 2023
@rbreich I was taught we have laws that don't allow this... what happened to that?
Show threadKevin P. FlemingJan 3, 2023
@rbreich And as a result we get to pay 'convenience fees' to purchase tickets from the only source.
Show threadJohn LoveJan 3, 2023
@rbreich We must inject new vigor into anti-trust laws to deal with contemporary anti-competitive practices. As Senator, I will make that a priority. #LoveForTexas #DefeatTedCruz https://secure.actblue.com/donate/defeattedcruz2024?refcode=RRTix
Show threadDemocracy Must SurviveJan 3, 2023
@rbreich Sad truth…
Show threadEnema CowboyJan 3, 2023
@rbreich
Mergers and acquisitions aren't good for workers, and they are rarely good for consumers.
@JessTheUnstill
Show threadTraci LawJan 3, 2023
@rbreich I thought we still had laws against monopolies yet Congress has allowed monopolies to thrive since the late 90's.
Show threadtippenringJan 3, 2023
@rbreich I don't go to their events as much as possible out of principle. However, with no alternatives for events I really want to attend obviously there is no choice.
Show threadmikewolfsonJan 3, 2023
@rbreich I hope the Kroger merger is blocked.
Show threadThomas H Jones IIJan 3, 2023

@rbreich

It's not just the ticketing and venues weaponized against consumers, they use it to extort artists, too.

Show threadYannisJan 3, 2023
@rbreich 70%? I find it hard to believe that number is so low. I can’t think of who the 30% would be.
Show threadMad HonchoJan 3, 2023

@yannis @rbreich there a number of other ticketing systems out there, primarily used by regional and smaller operators.

Folk and other Festivals, and municipally owned theatres are not live nation venues, for instance.

Show threadNPLady72Jan 3, 2023
@rbreich I don’t go to concerts anymore. Not worth it.
Show threadPetesmom *has moved*Jan 3, 2023
@rbreich They dont seem to harm politicians…
Show threadh2500Jan 3, 2023
@rbreich good for shareholders too. As long as they don’t try to buy concert tickets ;)
Show threadTeeJan 3, 2023
@rbreich Vote with your dollars. No, we font have to take it. 🤷🏻‍♀️
Show threadDoctorSynthJan 3, 2023
@rbreich the Stock Market is inherently immoral, creating an incentive for corporations to place earning profits ahead of all other goals. Wealthy stockholders and board members benefit as well as CEOs. We need Salary Caps for CEOs.
Show threadSt. Paul Jan 3, 2023
@rbreich for real, you ever tried to score GA pit tickets for Phish, D&C, or Goose?! It’s ridiculous.
Show threadVilmaPJan 3, 2023
@rbreich it’s close to impossible to get a ticket to a major event without going through Ticketmaster. If this is not a monopoly, what is?
Show threadMark W. AlexanderJan 3, 2023
@rbreich
Government established, maintained, and controlled #Monopolies because our #Congress puts the #Capitalist donors before #Voters
Show threadRealBillyGJan 3, 2023
@rbreich support small venues. Discover new music. New experiences. Vote with your feet and your cash.
Show threadCat WestJan 3, 2023
@rbreich Remember when monopolies were illegal? #GoodTimes
Show threadLigma JohnsonJan 3, 2023
@rbreich well damn, who ran the White House in 2010, was it Republicans? Or was it the guy YOU endorsed?
Show threadKris Kosach 😏Jan 3, 2023
@rbreich agreed. Even the artists are getting screwed. The SEC really should step in as this is a monopoly.
Show threadKris Kosach 😏Jan 3, 2023

@rbreich Furthermore:
“As a practical matter, a market share of greater than fifty percent has been necessary for courts to find the existence of monopoly power.” Source:
https://www.justice.gov

So why isn’t this being addressed?

Department of Justice | Homepage | United States Department of Justice

Official website of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). DOJ’s mission is to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law; to ensure public safety against threats foreign and domestic; to provide federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime; to seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior; and to ensure fair and

Show threadKannanJan 3, 2023
@rbreich Robert,
I've always wondered why Coops aren't bigger than they are. We've lived in cooperative societies for 100's of years. While fighting for worker rights and against corporate concentration & CEO pay, shouldn't we also fight for coops as a better more equitable system of enterprise?
Thanks.
Show thread🏳️‍⚧️ Siobhán SarelleJan 3, 2023

@rbreich

Big acts could just refuse to play for them of course. It would sort the issue out practically overnight.

Show threadjimmyfreyJan 3, 2023
@rbreich Robert, do we know which politicians became wealthy as a result?
Show threadEarthOneJan 3, 2023
@rbreich When did the billionaires end the Anti-Trust Act? I missed that. Did GOP's continuous deregulation of big business just de facto make it moot? Or did I miss it?
Show threadGiraffe Slava 🇺🇸🇺🇦Jan 3, 2023
@rbreich why does the government keep allowing this even under Democrats? Do we have any anti trust law working in this country anymore?