“You have brought together Republicans and Democrats in an absolutely unified cause,” Senator Richard Blumenthal told the President of Ticketmaster.
The entertainment company Live Nation managed to bridge the partisan gap in Congress today as Senators on both sides of the aisle scrutinized the company over its business practices and grip over the live entertainment industry.
“To have a strong capitalist system, you have to have competition,” Klobuchar said in her opening statement. “You can’t have too much consolidation, something that unfortunately for this country, as an ode to Taylor Swift, I will say we know ‘All Too Well.'”
Klobuchar went on to state that Live Nation controls “about 70% of the big concert market” and “owns many of the major venues.” Because of the company’s size, she said mishandlings like the Swift concert situation are met with “few consequences,” saying “this is all a definition of monopoly.”
Live Nation Entertainment’s President and Chief Financial Officer Joe Berchtold refuted this claim, stating that ticketing markets have “never been more competitive” and that Ticketmaster “has lost, not gained, market share” since it merged with Live Nation in 2010.
