Live Nation on trial

After decades of complaints by venues, artists and fans, a major antitrust case  against Live Nation and its subsidiary, Ticketmaster, kicked off this week. In his opening statement, U.S. attorney David Dahlquist called the concert industry “broken” and claimed that Live Nation used monopoly powers to bully venues and rip off fans. Lawyers for Live Nation pushed back, denying the monopoly status and insisting that the company is “all about bringing joy to people’s lives.” 

The case comes at a difficult moment for live music. Many artists have seen their revenue plummet with the rise of digital streaming, and ballooning costs have made staging a tour more expensive. Meanwhile, rising ticket prices are pushing some fans out of seeing their favorite musicians. 

Today, we’re talking about why concert tickets are so expensive, what is at stake in this antitrust case, and how all this affects the live music scene in the Philadelphia region. 

Guests:
Krista Brown, senior correspondent on the corporate investigations team at The Capitol Forum

Isabella Gomez Sarmiento, music reporter at NPR 

Chris Perella, owner and operator of Rising Sun Presents and Ardmore Music Hall